MEDIA RELEASE • 30 OCTOBER 2020
Geelong Arts Centre is proud to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of our First Nations peoples with an array of engaging activities and performances throughout NAIDOC Week 2020, commencing with a special live-stream performance by Yorta Yorta musician, Scott Darlow.
More than “just a gig”, at 8pm on Friday 6 November, ‘An Evening with Scott Darlow’ will see Darlow play solo acoustic versions of his music, and in between songs share his knowledge on Australia, the history of this country, his First Nations culture, and his heart for reconciliation.
Tune in LIVE via the arts centre’s website and Facebook Live event.
Audiences are encouraged to share their at-home event experience by tagging @GeelongArtsCentre and using the hashtag #WhereCreativityMeetsAtHome
Traditionally held in July but postponed due to COVID-19, NAIDOC Week 2020 will take place from November 8 to 15, and is an opportunity for communities to come together in celebration and support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the country.
The 2020 NAIDOC Week theme ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’ acknowledges that our nation’s story didn’t begin with documented European contact; the very first footprints on this continent were those belonging to First Nations peoples.
Supporting NAIDOC Week is an important pillar of Geelong Arts Centre’s programming, commitment and acknowledgment of a long-lasting reconciliation journey, in honouring the arts, culture and storytelling of First Nations peoples.
For over 65,000 years, the land on which Geelong Arts Centre stands has been a significant site for gathering, belonging and storytelling for the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation. Geelong Arts Centre continues this tradition by embracing and celebrating the culture of Australia’s First Peoples and First Nations globally.
“As part of our reconciliation journey we have heard the importance of connecting First Peoples’ stories with the broader community, and are proud to celebrate traditional and contemporary voices that enable deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and cultures.”
Geelong Arts Centre CEO, Joel McGuinness
On November 6, kick off nine days of celebration with Scott Darlow’s heartfelt acoustic performance, before immersing yourself in a week of culture through Geelong Arts Centre’s On Demand entertainment and educational resources.
Throughout the week Geelong Arts Centre will also release exclusive interviews with Indigenous artists, advocates and storytellers, before lighting up the night with a mesmerising lighting display projected upon the arts centre’s Ryrie Street building from November 13 to 15.
PROGRAM OF ACTIVITES
WHERE CREATIVITY MEETS AT HOME LIVE
AN EVENING WITH SCOTT DARLOW
8PM FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER
Both an accomplished recording and touring artist and a passionate educator and advocate, Darlow’s sessions see him use his gift for story telling, his love of history - both documented and also the stories of his elders - to help audiences better understand all the things that have happened and contributed to build the current Australia we all share. Darlow’s belief is that education brings understanding. Understanding brings empathy, and empathy brings healing and change.
Tune in LIVE via the arts centre’s website and Facebook Live event.
RYRIE STREET BUILDING ILLUMINATION EVENINGS FRIDAY 13 – SUNDAY 15 NOVEMBER
Be sure to drive past our Ryrie Street building to see dazzling reds, yellows, greens and blues inspired by the 2020 National NAIDOC logo splashed across the façade. Aboriginal art is the oldest unbroken tradition in the world, and is iconic for its use of these colours to communicate and share stories.
ON DEMAND
All ‘On Demand’ content is accessible anytime via the Geelong Arts Centre website
JESSIE LLOYD | MISSION SONGS PROJECT
ON DEMAND ENTERTAINMENT
Originally performed and live streamed 8pm May 29 from the Geelong Arts Centre stage, Jessie Lloyd’s profoundly moving and important Mission Songs Project reveals what daily life was like for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians on Christian missions and state-run settlements. Through the discovery of rare secular songs that were sung after church, audiences can gain a deeper understanding about the history of elders, families and communities, from cultural identity to love and loss. Mission Songs Project faithfully explores the musical journey of Indigenous Australian music as Jessie connects the traditional with the contemporary, revealing the continuation of cultural practice and song traditions into the 21st Century.
NORM STANLEY | CULTURAL PRESENTATION & STORY TIME
ON DEMAND EDUCATIONAL
Across two workshops for children in Years 5 – 8, Kurnai and Wotjabaluk man, Norm Stanley shares ancestral insights into the oldest and longest surviving culture in the world: our Australian Aboriginal Culture.
"Our Ancestors passed these stories down to us over many thousands of years and throughout generations. Now, we have a role to play. We have become the holders of our stories."
THAEDRA FRANGOS | CONNECTING TO SELF AND CULTURE
ON DEMAND EDUCATIONAL
Thaedra Frangos is a freelance movement artist, dancer, biodynamic craniosacral therapist, yoga and meditation instructor and accredited Wayapa Wuurrk® - Indigenous Earth Mindfulness and movement - facilitator.
Across two workshops for children in Years 7 – 10, Thaedra shares her personal journey of reconciliation with her Aboriginality through connection to Country and leads students through a guided sensory meditation that explores the relationship between self and nature.