Looking Through Windows: tablelands, the coast to outback NSW

Dr Lorina Barker from the University of New England (UNE) has led the project. "I was yarning with Nan about what it meant to be taken from Country and I wrote a poem about it," Dr Barker said. "With her endorsement, I read that poem at the Yaama Cultural Festival held in Bourke in 2006 and it took off from there".

This is an extensive project and it has engaged community members form the New England region, the North West and Northcoast NSW and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.

The project began as a series of OnCountry Gatherings with multi-media workshops in 2017-2018, funded by the Australian Government through the Indigenous Language and Arts program (ILA). It is also funded by Create NSW and is a significant for two major Australian Research Indigenous Discovery projects.

Yarning a cultural methodology developed by Dr Barker creates a safe, creative and cultural space for sharing and passing on knowledge at Elders and OnCountry Gatherings. Fostering a practice where Aboriginal people manage their own stories, images, voices, and artworks by taking control of how their stories are recorded and represented.

Image: Simon Mellor and Warren Kelly, Tin Humpy