Kurdinthi Symposium Program
Friday 5 September
KURDINTHI GATHERING
A day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander weavers to reignite connections and create new networks. Weavers are encouraged to bring their own materials to weave, yarn, share and exchange with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander weavers from across Australia.
Location: YITPI YARTAPUULTIKU
(Open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander weavers only)
THE KURDINTHI GATHERING EVENT ON FRI 5 SEPT IS FULLY BOOKED
KURDINTHI LAUNCH EVENTS
National First Nations Weaving Salon
Exhibition Opening presented by Ku Arts
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Location: LIGHT SQUARE GALLERY
JamFactory ICON Aunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time
Robert Wuldi: Weaving the Machine
Kurdinthi Marketplace
Special event presented by JamFactory
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: JAMFACTORY
OPEN TO 2-DAY PASS HOLDERS ONLY
Saturday 6 September
SYMPOSIUM DAY 1
A morning program of conversations at THE MERCURY
9:30am - 12:30pm
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
Moderated by Freja Carmichael
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 and Mandi King from Milingimbi Art and Culture
Interpreter: Abbey Yunupingu
Moderated by Rebekah Raymond
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 Munuyngu, Cecilie Djalarrnami and Mel George from Bula’Bula Arts
Interpreter: Abbey Yunupingu
Moderated by Rebekah Raymond
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
Moderated by Hannah Presley
WEAVING ON SCREEN
A selection of short films highlighting First Nations fibre practices and celebrating the cultural knowledge, creativity, resilience and resistance of weavers and their communities.
3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location: THE MERCURY
EXHIBITIONS
National First Nations Weaving Salon
10:00am - 4:00pm
Location: LIGHT SQUARE GALLERY
JamFactory ICON 2025 Aunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time
Robert Wuldi: Weaving the Machine
Kurdinthi Marketplace
10:00am - 5:00pm
Location: JAMFACTORY
WORKSHOPS
Afternoon masterclasses and workshops at JamFactory studios and Light Square Gallery.
2:00pm - 4:30pm
Location: JAMFACTORY and LIGHT SQUARE GALLERY
Sunday 7 September
SYMPOSIUM DAY 2
A morning program of conversations at THE MERCURY
9:30am - 12:30pm
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
Moderated by Sonya Rankine
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
Moderated by Hannah Presley
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
Moderated by Carly Tarkari Dodd
WEAVING ON SCREEN (repeat screening)
A selection of short films highlighting First Nations fibre practices and celebrating the cultural knowledge, creativity, resilience and resistance of weavers and their communities.
12:30pm - 4:30pm
Location: THE MERCURY
EXHIBITIONS
National First Nations Weaving Salon
10:00am - 4:00pm
Location: LIGHT SQUARE GALLERY
JamFactory ICON 2025 Aunty Ellen Trevorrow: Weaving Through Time
Robert Wuldi: Weaving the Machine
Kurdinthi Marketplace
10:00am - 5:00pm
Location: JAMFACTORY
WORKSHOPS
Afternoon masterclasses and workshops at JamFactory studios and Light Square Gallery.
2:00pm - 4:30pm
Location: JAMFACTORY and LIGHT SQUARE GALLERY