Welcome
Welcome Message from the Chair
Hello and welcome to the 12th annual
Guringai Festival – celebrating Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander culture in the
Northern Sydney region.
Last year we explored the Australian
Constitution and the proposed
acknowledgement of the first people of
Australia which provided the underlying
festival theme ‘One Voice’.
As we work towards addressing the
unfinished business in this country and
collaboratively work towards closing the
gap with regard to social indicators that see
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
continuously falling behind the rest of the
Australian population, we continue to strive
to achieve better outcomes at a local level.
As we share our stories and find the
commonalities in our lives and find ‘our
voices’ as residents of the Northern Sydney
region, I believe we can make a difference.
That’s why we have chosen to continue the
conversation and extend last year’s theme
to ‘One Voice: Still Talking’.
As the Government’s ‘Expert Panel’ of 20
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people are
finalising their report on the next steps, we
will continue to strengthen the relationship
and work done to date in the Northern
Sydney region, in Guringai Country.
Susan Moylan-Coombs and
Caroline Glass-Pattison
Co-Chairs, Guringai Festival Committee
About Guringai Festival
Acknowledgment of Country
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land, the Guringai peoples on whose land we now stand, we pay our respects to Elders past and present.
About Guringai Festival
Founded in 2001, the Guringai Festival aims to raise awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the Northern Sydney region. The festival usually starts on Sorry Day 26 May and goes through to the end of NAIDOC Week, the second week in July each year.
The Festival involves 11 councils and numerous reconciliation and community groups. Events include workshops, art exhibitions, performances, films and talks.
Front Cover Image
Tim Moriarty is a local artist who has a
degree in Digital Media.
Tim started work with Balarinji in 2005
doing visualisations of art edition
commemorative ThinkPads. Since then
he has worked in a wide variety of
areas including design concepts for the
Qantas Airbus A380, architectural and
interior design for proposed building
development projects, an ‘immersive
contemporary dreamtime environment’
for Sydney’s Wildlife World, branding
content for competitions and events and
television ads for high profile companies.
In 2006, North Sydney Council
commissioned Tim to create a sculpture
for the upgrade of the newly named
Cameraygal Place as part of the
Guringai Festival. In his design Message
Sticks, Tim used contemporary images
and materials but also incorporated
traditional Aboriginal stories relevant to
the area.
Tim’s work is always visually exciting
and members of the Guringai Festival
Committee are pleased that Tim’s work
is included as part of the Festival once
again. Tim’s vibrant images for the book
and poster for 2011 & 2012 clearly
portray the theme, bringing together all
the elements of the city, the harbour and
the bush as one.
Important Dates and Anniversaries
Nadioc Week - Spirit of the Tent Embassy: 40 years on
Sunday 1 - Sunday 8 July 2012 Celebrates the survival of Indigenous culture and the Indigenous contribution to modern Australia. www.naidoc.org.au
Reconciliation Week: Lets Talk Recognition
Sunday 27 May - Sunday 3 June 2012 - Each year National Reconciliation
Week celebrates the rich culture and
history of the First Australians. It is the
ideal time for everyone to join the
reconciliation conversation and to think
about how we can help turn around
the disadvantage experienced by many
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people.
The theme for 2012 will be “Let’s Talk
Recognition!” with a particular focus on
constitutional recognition of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples. www.nswreconciliation.org.au
Sorry Day
Thursday 26 May 2012 Annual commemoration of the tens of thousands of Indigenous people who were forcibly removed from their families as children. www.nsdc.org.au