In this episode of Creative Responders, we’re heading to Woorabinda, an Indigenous community in Central Queensland on the Traditional lands of the Wadja Wadja and Ghungalu Aboriginal peoples.
Nickeema Williams, Director of the Woorabinda Arts and Cultural Centre, shows us around the burgeoning arts centre and shares how it is providing opportunities to revitalise cultural practices with direct and meaningful impacts on the wellbeing of the community.
We’ll hear from Woorabinda community members about the challenge of preserving and passing down cultural knowledge in the face of the massive disruption brought about by colonisation - and how arts and culture can be a pathway to restoring some of these lost connections.
Woorabinda artist, Roxanne Oakley, shares the healing benefits of her own artistic practice, and her commitment to sharing that knowledge with others through her role at the arts centre. Community elders, Uncle Steven Kemp and Uncle Milton Lawton, talk about the work they are doing to share Traditional knowledge and cultural practices, along with the histories and environmental knowledge they carry.
Interviews:
Roxanne Oakley, Artist
Nickeema Williams, Director, Woorabinda Arts and Cultural Centre
Uncle Steven Kemp
Uncle Milton Lawton
Produced by: Jill Robson and Scotia Monkivitch
Audio Engineer: Glen Morrow
Studio Recordings: Tiffany Dimmack
Sound Recordist for Woorabinda Recordings: Boe Spearim
Sound Recordist for Additional Woorabinda Recordings and Carnarvon Gorge Trek: Josh Burton
Links and Further Reading:
Woorabinda Arts and Cultural Centre
Yarbun Creations (Uncle Steven’s natural soaps and other handmade products)
Mayi Kuwayu, The National Study of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing
Gumby gumby trees and other Aboriginal medicines to be researched by CQ University:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-26/cq-university-traditional-medicine-research-ghungalu-elder/101009154
Youtube video: Plant Uses and Medicines with Uncle Steven Kemp
ABC article about Uncle Steven Kemp and his work to pass on knowledge to younger generations:
Central Queensland University News Video of Woorabinda Arts and Cultural Centre (featuring interviews with Nickeema Williams and Roxanne Oakley)
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