The Lismore Quadrangle’s 2019 project, Dungarimba Wandarahn received a Highly Commended Award in the Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Culture category at the Local Government NSW Awards.
Commissioned by The Lismore Quad, Dungarimba Wandarahn (Lismore place of learning) was a major new Australian work by internationally acclaimed digital artist Craig Walsh.
One and a half years in the making, the project was created in collaboration with Southern Cross University’s Indigenous School Gnibi Wandarahn and Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar, high school and university students, researchers and arts practitioners, and was funded by the Australian Government’s Heritage Near Me program.
Dungarimba Wandarahn was a powerful multi-sensory experience of Bundjalung Elder, Aunty Irene Harrington’s memories as a young Aboriginal girl straddling two worlds in the 1950s.
During the four-night event, the original Lismore High School was animated with large-scale projections and a soundscape depicting her experience of a white education system. A large dome was also constructed on the grass over a sand circle evoking traditional Bundjalung story, language and song with music composed by Brett Canning from Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar and didgeridoo from local musician Tom Avery.
Audiences were invited to experience the work however they chose – lying down under the stars and listening, walking around each of the spaces, or sitting on a picnic rug while the kids played in the sand circle covered with animated projections of Bundjalung art.
Lismore City Council’s Deputy Mayor Darlene Cook congratulated the gallery team lead by Brett Adlington, and in particular, project producer, Marisa Snow
“This recognition by Local Government NSW is well deserved,” she said.
“The Regional Gallery and The Quad continues to punch above its weight and attract a wide audience by commissioning artists who tell our local stories.
“I congratulate Craig Walsh and the team at the Gallery and The Quad for having the vision and passion to deliver this multi-sensory experience of Bundjalung language, history and story.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Kate Holmes
