NGUNNAWAL STORY POSTS

With the support and guidance of  Ngunnawal Elder Wally Bell and Ngunnawal Artist Adrian Brown Catchment Studio are supporting the resurfacing of Ngunnawal Stories , Language and Culture within in the landscape through the development and delivery for the Story Posts Project. 

Dickson Wetlands has been marked as the starting point for this project funded through ACT Heritage. The with the intention to establish a series of site along the length of Sullivan’s Creek and it’s tributaries that shares Ngunnawal stories, art and language and to celebrate and strengthen cultural heritage while promoting a wider understanding of local Ngunnawal stories.

Ngunnawal artist Adrian Brown has been invited to respond to these sites and stories by creating stories poles made from treated hardwood. Each post will be carved and marked in respond to a Ngunnawal story that has been recorded and edited by our media partners Living Arts Canberra Radio.

Local school partners have been invited to respond to these stories and the Ngunnawal language. Students will visit one or two sites over a number of weeks listening to the stories from each site and then be asked to respond to the story, the site and language. Workshops will be devised and conducted by artist Nicola Lambert and Elder Wally Bell together with school children and teachers. Children will  to create a map and artwork for the QR codes to access the audio recordings.

Story Posts trail will be launched in partnership with Canberra Trails in the form of a self-guided walk with interpretative material supplied via a QR code which will link the user to a website with written and oral material relating to the on-site artwork. A Toolkit and Resources Pack is being developed in partnership with the school educators, artist Nicola Lambert and Uncle Wally. Stories have been recorded, shared and archived on Canberra Living Arts Radio and Sullivan’s Trail platforms. Artist Ardrien Brown and Uncle Wally will lead a series of public tours during the Heritage Festival 2023.