NAIDOC Week theme for 2022 is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!  The call to action aims to amplify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome.
 
“The City is proud to host a wide range of immersive experiences, music, dance, culture and art throughout July, celebrating and embracing the oldest living culture on Earth,” City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas said.
 
To kick off the week, the NAIDOC Opening Ceremony will take place at Wellington Square on Sunday, 3 July. The free event is an opportunity for the people of Perth to come together to celebrate Indigenous achievements, history and rich culture.
 
From 4th - 31st July, Council House will be hosting Community Arts Network’s Ngaluk Waangkiny (Us Talking) exhibition. Ngaluk Waangkiny, meaning ‘us talking’ in Noongar, is a landmark multimedia storytelling project designed to honour and preserve the legacy of the City’s Elders Advisory Group.
 
The City partnered with Community Arts Network, ABC Perth and the Aesop Foundation to produce a documentary, podcast and book that shines a light on how the Elders’ lived experiences have influenced their contribution to the City’s Reconciliation Action Plan.
 
“The City of Perth is honoured to host the Ngaluk Waangkiny exhibition - a profound project that embodies this year’s NAIDOC theme to get up, stand up, show up.
 
“I encourage everyone to come down to Council House to better understand and appreciate the often-untold history of our City and the unique stories our Elders have to share,” he said.
 
Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas acknowledged the contribution the Elders have made to the City of Perth as strong advocates for respect, recognition and reconciliation.
 
The City of Perth will be recognising NAIDOC Week by illuminating Council House in Aboriginal colours from 3 to 10 July. Trafalgar Bridge will also be lit up in red.

 

See below for a list of events occurring around the city to celebrate NAIDOC:
 
Opening Ceremony Boorloo | Wellington Square | Sunday July 3rd
The formal opening of National NAIDOC Week events in the Perth metropolitan area – this free event is an opportunity for the people of Perth to come together to celebrate Indigenous achievements and the history, rich culture and survival of the oldest continuing living culture on the planet.

Handing out Australian native bunches | 4, 5 & 6 July, 9.30am onwards | iCity Kiosk Murray Street Mall
Volunteers from the iCity Kiosk will hand out small Australian native green bunches to the community in celebration of our first nations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of Perth.
 
The Dreaming Place |State Library of Western Australia | July 3 – 10 | Daily 10 am - 5pm
In the relaxing nook of the State Library of Western Australia, the unique, authentic work of the Aboriginal Nations multi award winning animation series will screen The Dreaming.
 
These animated films are based on Australian Aboriginal storytelling (oral histories) that have been maintained as a body of knowledge for over 40,000 years and diverse.
 
Ngaaluk Waangkiny (Us Talking) Launch | Council House | 4 July
The exhibition will be Launched on Monday 4th July. The Lord Mayor will be joined by the Birdiyas of the Elders Advisory Group who have shared their stories through Ngaluk Waangkiny (Us Talking).
 
QR codes are embedded in the exhibition artwork link to the eight podcast stories that accompany the photography series, viewers are encouraged to bring a smart device and headphones for a fully immersive experience.

The Community Arts Network received a $23,000 Arts Grant in 2020 from the City to produce and record Ni! (Noongar word for listen), the podcast component of Ngaluk Waangkiny, exploring the lives and experiences of Noongar Elders living in Perth. 
 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that the images, names and voices of deceased Elders in this legacy project have been used with their permission.
 
Tjanpi Desert Weavers Digital Exhibition | Forrest Place & Northbridge Piazza| 1 July - 30 July
This digital exhibition shares the story of Tjanpi Desert Weavers, a social enterprise created to enable Aboriginal women artists in remote central deserts to earn their own income from art.
 
The exhibition showcases the wonderful works of the talented weavers as well as photographs of the artists at work in the spectacular landscapes of the region.
 
Artitj Digital Exhibition | Forrest Place & Northbridge Piazza |1 July - 30 July

  • Artworks from Bula'bula arts, Ramingining, NT
  • Artworks from Munupi arts, Melville island, NT
  • Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council

 

Issued by: Grace Carr, Senior Media and Communications Advisor, grace.carr@cityofperth.wa.gov.au

The City of Perth acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where Perth city is situated today, and pay our respect to Elders past and present.