Join renowned artist Aunty Julie Freeman for this special storytelling session. Listen to the ancestral stories of land, sea, wind and fire that created all life in the Warrigamban, the beginning.
This is a special opportunity to hear grandmothers’ stories of local plants, animals and weather patterns from across Aunty Julie’s Country.
“The Biddi-gals, the grandmothers, speak of ancestral stories, knowledge, lessons, proper behaviours, family and Country. They are the connections to all things in the land, in the sea, in the wind and in the fire. These are the elements that created all life in the Warrigamban, the beginning.”
– Aunty Julie Freeman
Aunty Julie Freeman
Aunty Julie Freeman’s mum was a shellworker and artefact maker from the La Perouse Aboriginal community on Bidjigal Country with cultural connections to the wider Sydney and Illawarra region, including the Gorawarl clan, whose traditional Country includes present- day Kurnell on the southern shores of Kamay (Botany Bay) of the Dharawal Nation. Aunty Julie’s dad was a Wandiwandian fisherman of the Yuin Nation, born on the Coolangatta Estate near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales.
Like many La Perouse and South Coast families, her family joined the Aboriginal fishing community of Wreck Bay near Huskisson, a place of great diversity where everyone could stay connected and safe. Aunty Julie comes from a long line of storytellers and artists, and from an early age, she learned the local tradition of shellwork from her mother and grandmothers. Aunty Julie is a highly respected knowledge-holder from the South Coast region, and is an accomplished and recognised artist, cultural leader and storyteller.
bagan bariwariganyan: echoes of country
bagan bariwariganyan: echoes of country is a body of works by renowned Gweagal/Wandiwandian storyteller and artist Aunty Julie Freeman, leading Walbunja/Ngarigo artist Aunty Cheryl Davison, and Wiradyuri/Kamilaroi artistJonathan Jones.
The season upholds and maintains Aboriginal values and kinships, featuring an immersive gunyah (home) installation including drawings by the significant Yuin artist Mickey of Ulladulla, a solo exhibition of paintings by Aunty Julie sharing grandmother stories of local plants, animals and weather patterns, and a new installation by Aunty Cheryl Davison, representing the importance of Burrawang seeds, a key traditional food source.