Over two days at The Mercury, the Kurdinthi Symposium featured a curated program of talks by weavers from diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.
Regeneration, Resistance and Resilience
Weavers share how reconnecting with Ancestral memory held in museum collections and archives has regenerated individual and collective cultural practice, and discuss reigniting the spirit of gathering and weaving knowledge as acts of colonial resistance.
Speakers: Sonja Carmichael, Leecee Carmichael, Kylie Caldwell and Zoe Rimmer
Moderator: Freja Carmichael
Duration: 36 min 58 sec
Photo by Kate Holmes for the publication Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali... we weave together.
Dhuwal Laŋarra Bush Gallery (This is Laŋarra Bush Gallery)
An initiative of Ruth Namalkarra, Chairperson of Milingimbi Art and Culture, Laŋarra Bush Gallery brought together around fifty weavers from five neighbouring Arnhem Land art centres to Laŋarra Outstation, Howard Island, for a three-day weavers’ camp. Central to the camp was a community-driven exhibition and artist talks where weavers shared innovations in traditional and contemporary fibre art practices.
Speakers: Margaret Gamuti, Roslyn Markapuy, Jennifer Dikarr Roy, Amanda King and Rosita Holmes from Milingimbi Art and Culture
Interpreter: Abbey Yunupiŋu
Moderator: Rebekah Raymond
Duration: 44 min 21 sec
Helen Ganalmirriwuy speaking at the Laŋarra Bush Gallery opening, Laŋarra homeland, May 2024. Photo Rosita Holmes.
Batjbarra (Fish Trap)
This Yolŋu-led initiative is a collaboration between Bula’bula Arts, Arafura Rangers and the Learning on Country program. Responding to ecological challenges in Gurruwiliny (Arafura Swamp), this project aims to restore freshwater fish populations through the use of traditional fish trapping while also providing an opportunity for intergenerational learning.
Speakers: Evonne Munuyŋu, Cecilie Djalarrnami and Mel George from Bula’bula Arts
Interpreter: Abbey Yunupiŋu
Moderator: Rebekah Raymond
Duration: 29 min 14 sec
The Batjbarra project at Bula’bula Arts, Ramingining, Arnhem Land NT. Photo courtesy of Bula’bula Arts.
Woven in Place
A conversation exploring how weaving traditions are reimagined in public art. This panel will discuss how cultural practices are translated through contemporary materials and at scale, the responsibility artists have when speaking to place, and the creative challenges of weaving histories and perspectives to make them visible in shared public spaces.
Speakers: Sharyn Egan and Donna Blackall
Moderator: Hannah Presley
Duration: 33 min 57 sec
Sharyn Egan, Flannel Flowers, 2018. Photograph: Anna Kučera
Country is talking, are you listening?
Weavers speak to the current impacts of the climate crisis and their role as custodians of Country, the knowledge embedded in their practice, and the responsibility we have to respond when Country calls.
Speakers: Cedric Varcoe and Collette Gray
Moderator: Sonya Rankine
Duration: 47 min
Collette Gray sorting marine debris at Arts Ceduna. Photo by Mel Henderson, Ku Arts
Transformations
A conversation with artists who are expanding weaving practices by honouring traditional knowledge while pushing boundaries through their use of new materials, innovation and experimentation
Speakers: Robert Wuldi, Carly Tarkari Dodd, Jenna Lee and Erica Muriata
Moderator: Hannah Presley
Duration: 41 min 25 sec
Robert Wuldi, Menmenengkuri (Swallow Bird) Basket, 2025. Photo Connor Patterson
Threads of Power
A celebration of wearable weaving and fashion as cultural expression. Weavers will share how fibre art practices are reimagined for the body, where every strand is an act of resistance, a thread of identity, and a statement of survival.
Speakers: Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, Jelina Haines, Cassie Leatham and Lisa Waup
Moderator: Carly Tarkari Dodd
Duration: 46 min 55 sec
Aunty Ellen Trevorrow in collaboration with Jelina Haines, Yam Daisy Flower (Murning) Woven Dress 2025, Sedge grass and jute string. Worn by Keira Trevorrow on Ngarrindjeri Country. Photo by Connor Patterson.