Bayala Nura: Yarning Country

Bayala Nura celebrated the vibrant, living diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Yarning – sharing stories and songlines through talking, singing, and dancing – is a traditional practice used to build connections and pass on cultural knowledge, and is still very much alive today.

This gallery showcased fascinating objects and artworks from all over Indigenous Australia including an array of tall hunting spears and shields from around the country, and colourful yidakis (didjeridus) from Arnhem Land and beyond. Objects that were featured included bark canoes made using traditional techniques and Edward Malati Yunupingu’s playful work, Old Time Footballer. Bayala Nura exhibited the important role Indigenous artists continue to play in Australia’s cultural life.

These featured objects were also accompanied by first-hand stories of the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal communities, from first contact through the long struggle to maintain identity and sacred connections to Country that continues today.

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