Dance performances, live music, storytelling, and a games space are just some of the attractions on offer at this year’s NAIDOC in the City.
The City of Sydney’s annual event celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures will take place between 10am to 3pm on Saturday 9 July at Sydney Town Hall.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the day was an opportunity for families to come together on Gadigal land and experience all that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have to offer.
“NAIDOC in the City is a free celebration of the world’s longest living cultures through food, song, art, dance, and stories in the heart of the city,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
“We value the city’s First Nations people, and the Gadigal of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of this place we now call Sydney. NAIDOC in the City is a great opportunity for all residents to come together and celebrate, especially as we look to put the worst of the pandemic behind us.”
The theme for NAIDOC Week 2022 is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! which encourages Australians to continue the momentum for change and support institutional, structural, collaborative and cooperative reforms.
The City of Sydney has worked closely with the Gadigal Information Service Aboriginal Corporation to present the 2022 NAIDOC in the city event which includes:
- Dangura Ring: This cultural dance space is the spiritual heart and soul of NAIDOC in the City and where a Welcome to Country ceremony will open the festival followed by the Calling of the Clans. The atmosphere incites the natural senses of hearing and seeing culture, and invites visitors to experience, heal and unearth the infinite continual connection to Country.
- Bayumi Hub: The Bayumi (music) hub will host a celebratory program of talented First Nations artists. Stemming from multiple nations across the country, the program will feature storytellers and contemporary music artists from all genres including Craig Tilmouth, Mr Rhodes and Toni Janke. Learn more about ancient song lines, their enduring survival and inherent connection to First Nations people.
- The Gunyahs: This is a dedicated space for children and their families with toys, games and activities to keep the young (and young at heart) entertained.
- Burra Camp: This space will host four 30-minute workshop sessions for star gazing and various educational activities.
- Bangawara Huts: Bangawara means ‘to make or do’. The Bangawara Huts will host a sharing, teaching and learning environment. Facilitated by established artists, participants can take part in traditional weaving, music, cooking and technology workshops.
- Wunyawuri Way: Wunyawuri translates ‘to make believe, do in jest’. This street theatre space will feature new and emerging First Nations talent performing contemporary theatre works, storytelling and poetry suitable for all ages.
- Fig Tree Markets: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses will offer a range of contemporary delicacies, authentic cultural items, and art and craft from stalls located throughout Hyde Park North.
In addition to NAIDOC in the City, Sydneysiders and visitors can celebrate our First Nations culture during NAIDOC Week with other attractions throughout the city.
- Visit the recently unveiled bara monument by Aboriginal artist Judy Watson. The work stands almost 6.5m tall and sits atop the Tarpeian Precinct Lawn above Dubbagullee (Bennelong Point). The work represents a giant bara, or fishhook, crafted and used by Gadigal women for thousands of generations.
- Walking through a Songline is a First Nations multi-sensory digital installation at the Museum of Sydney, which also hosts more work from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. The installation is a celebration that gives visitors the feeling of walking through a songline themselves. Songlines are ‘Dreaming tracks’ that map the routes of Ancestral beings as they travelled across Australia, creating the land and its people.
- Dreamtime Southern runs walking tours through The Rocks that focus on living Dreamtime cultural trails and Tribal Warrior is a local Redfern organisation that offers different themed cruises, including cultural tours.
- The City of Sydney Culture Walks app also offers self-guided walks like the Barani Redfern and Barani Sydney Cove/Warrane that go through the heart of the city’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
For more information go to whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
For media enquiries or images, contact Elaine Kelly. Phone 0477 362 550 or email ekelly@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
For interviews with Lord Mayor Clover Moore contact Paul Mackay. Phone 0436 816 604 or email pmackay@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au