Gurindji Heritage Project/Keeping Place

Start date
Research partner(s)
Karungkarni Art and Culture Aboriginal Corporation

Celebration of cultural heritage remains a key focus within resilient communities with evidence revealing this must be supported with appropriate research, resourcing and infrastructure. The Gurindji people’s legacy is tied to their role leading the way for Indigenous land rights and equality. While this legacy is recognised worldwide, its power is diminished by the lack of resources and facilities that can be used to share the Gurindji stories more broadly. The Gurindji Heritage Project / Keeping Place has been identified as a key initiative to support and enhance the iconic Gurindji story and legacy for future generations.

The Heritage Project is also listed as a highest priority in the Multi-Agency Partnership Agreement between the Gurindji people and the Australian Government. Historian Dr Charlie Ward notes Gurindji elders first asked for a purpose-built heritage centre in 2004, with a University of Melbourne (UoM) team asked for support in 2014. As a pathway towards relationship building, an ‘action research’ strategy was initiated to build the working group for the project, leading to a series of collaborative projects between the Gurindji Aboriginal Corporation (GAC), Karungkarni Art and Culture (KAC) and Bower Studio (program within UoM - bowerstudio.com.au).

This highly awarded initiative has led to the co-design and co-construction of facilities including:

2016: Pavilions celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ‘Walk-off’.

2018: Redevelopment of Karungkarni Art Centre.

2018: Development of Kalkaringi Sports Facilities.

2019: Culture spaces, Libanangu Park.

These completed projects demonstrate the impact co-design programs play in building robust and positive relationships over an extended period of time.

Continuing to support initiatives that ensure the Gurindji voice, agency and legacy, this project continues and extends the collaborative co-design process to actualise a world-class heritage facility at Kalkaringi to showcase the stories, arts and artefacts celebrating Gurindji culture from deep history to contemporary times. This facility will showcase this knowledge and experience to people both within our community and more broadly enabling both physical and interactive digital visits to this heritage archive.

The project facilitates the consultation phases, brief development, sketch designs and digital/physical models and costings required to move the project towards ‘shovel ready’ status. Representatives from the Kalkaringi/Daguragu Heritage Committee (KDHC) will join representatives from UoM, ANU and UQ to conduct fieldwork exercises and review workshops.

Concurrently, the project will investigate and locate Gurindji Nation dispersed materials from archives by following trails through Commonwealth, Northern and Central Land Council, and AIATSIS records and through the extended personnel involved in the community. Action will commence to negotiate access, custodianship, and repatriation of those materials and begin the digital repatriation for inclusion in a digital Gurindji archive.

Complimenting these ‘hard’ outcomes will be the documentation of a rigorous process applicable to other Indigenous communities seeking support for their heritage project ambitions (eg. Wadeye community has previously contracted the research team for its Media Box initiative, documentation and cataloguing of its extensive heritage artefacts).

For more information visit: 

https://www.facebook.com/KarungkarniArt/

https://www.instagram.com/karungkarniart/

Output(s)

There are no listed outputs for this project.