MEDIA RELEASE • 24 JUNE 2022
Geelong Arts Centre is delighted to host a panel of wonderful, local First Nations artists to present a free Cultural Conversations event in-person and online at 2:00pm on Saturday 9 July from the Studio 4 stage of their Ryrie Street venue.
Facilitated by Noongar and Tuwharetoa artist and curator Kiri Tawhai, join local First Nations artists, Wadawurrung Woman Kait James, Gerard Black, and Tarryn Love, for a panel discussion around the NAIDOC 2022 theme, “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!”
Spend the afternoon hearing firsthand how art not only enables and strengthens cultural connection, but can also serve as a platform for activism, for change and for sharing a unique point of view.
In this series of Cultural Conversations, panellists will provide opportunity for discussion, connection and conversation, as they share their diverse perspectives.
Audience members - both online and in person - will have a chance to engage with the panel through a live Q&A.
The 90 minute free event provides an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and Non-Aboriginal people of all backgrounds and gender identities to gather, join the conversation, ask questions, and walk together.
Now in its second year, Geelong Arts Centre’s Cultural Conversations series aims to bring First Nations voices and stories to the forefront, and to provide a culturally safe space in which to engage in shared learning and important discussions.
For tens of thousands of 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 is committed to a long-lasting reconciliation journey that acknowledges, respects, includes and responds to First Nations community, and connects First Peoples’ stories and voices with the broader community through meaningful artwork, performance and conversation.
To learn more about Geelong Arts Centre’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), visit geelongartscentre.org.au/about-us/first-peoples/
Due to capacity restrictions, 100 tickets have been made available to attend this event in person, with a free simultaneously broadcast livestream available to all.
Registration is free, but essential.
To register, and to learn more about each speaker on the panel, visit geelongartscentre.org.au/parrwang-community-arts/naidoc-week-cultural-conversations-get-up-stand-up-show-up/.
QUOTES ATTRIBUTABLE
“At Geelong Arts Centre, we believe passionately in the role of all artforms in serving as a platform for storytelling, creating change and sharing unique views.
The NAIDOC Week theme, “Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!” calls for all of us come together to commit to genuine change. By choosing to listen, talk and walk together, there is much to be gained personally, culturally and creatively.”
Geelong Arts Centre Senior Producer,
Kelly Clifford