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