Presented over four weeks at key design institutions across Warrang/Sydney, 'Barangga' is a yarning series that celebrates culture and community in First Nations design and making practices across Australia. The program connects leading First Nations designers and creatives working in graphics, digital design, object, tool making, weaving, sculpture, painting, and more, with Australia's most renowned First Nations curators and producers to discuss the power of creative practice.
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Presented by UNSW School of Art & Design and UNSW Galleries
'Barangga' is a Dharawal word meaning 'large vessel' or 'island'. It speaks to the significance of design and crafts in First Nations practices, while embodying the notion of bringing people together and holding space for community.
This four-week program of workshops and conversations will be presented onsite at UNSW Galleries as well as at key design institutions across Warrang/Sydney including the Australian Design Centre and the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Sharyn Egan is a painter, weaver and sculptor. As a member of the Stolen Generation who grew up in the New Norcia Mission School much of her artwork is a commentary on her life as a Nyoongar woman and the associated trauma, emotions and deep sense of loss and displacement experienced by Aboriginal people. Never afraid of experimentation and exploration, she works in numerous media, including painting, sculpture, woven forms and site specific installations, often choosing materials, such as ochres, resins and grasses that connect to land, especially her home near the lake system in the southern suburbs of Perth. Her woven works include traditionally styled contemporary forms and baskets, as well as larger scale sculptural forms.
Beau James is currently Head of First Nations Programming at the Sydney Opera House. Beau is from the Mununjali clan of the Yugambeh Nation from South East Queensland with links to Stradbroke Island. James has worked as a company director, circus artist, physical theatre and cabaret performer, and was the co-founder and director of Circus Minimus in Brisbane for 10 years. For the last seven years, James worked as Manager Indigenous Programs at the Australian National Maritime Museum, curating innovative exhibitions and programs, and sourcing new works that intertwine the traditional and the contemporary to explore First Nations culture.
