Home program showcase

MAMA acknowledges the unceded lands of the Wiradjuri people on which our museum is situated. We pay our respects to the Elders past, present and emerging as the caretakers and knowledge holders of this land and its waterways. Geographically, MAMA is located in a border community and designated resettlement area for Aboriginal people as per government policies of the time. A result of the forced resettlement of Aboriginal people is that our local First Nations community comprises people from many mobs and nations.

When developing our cultural program we prioritise working with Wiradjuri artists and are guided by local, senior Wiradjuri artist Aunty Lorraine Connelly-Northey who is a member of MAMA’s Advisory Committee. Connelly-Northey’s practice is featured in the Home program resource kit developed by AGNSW.

Our participation in the Home program has extended our opportunity to continue learning from and celebrating our local First Nations community and their continuing culture. Throughout our involvement in the program MAMA has worked with local Aboriginal artists; Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Ruth Davys, Brendon Kennedy, Dr Pettina Love, Uncle Allan Murray and Bethany Thornber.

Beth Thornber

Curatorial Officer, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs

• Glenroy Public School
• Table Top Public School
• Hume Public School

Gindaymanha: play, to have fun is an exhibition of artwork created by students from Glenroy
Public School, Table Top Public School, and Hume Public School, as part of the Home program.

Students learned about artists from NSW including Brook Andrew, Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Karla Dickens, the Euraba Artists and Papermakers and Kevin Gilbert. They also participated in artmaking workshops with Wiradjuri artist Bethany Thornber who, in her practice, experiments with the melding of natural and manufactured materials; such as sticks, leaves, plastic and wool.

The wall mounted Bush Dolls are assembled using eucalyptus twigs, sticks and leaves, wool, and yarn. In what has been a challenging year the dolls remind us of the importance of being resourceful and to Gindaymanha (play and to have fun) through our creativity.

Students also created artwork inspired by the collage processes of Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens and created work in the virtual artmaking lesson she led.

“My Pop, Larry, described to me as a child the toys he used to make along the Lachlan river. He and his mother, Esther, along with his eleven brothers and sisters lived in a large canvas tent near the river. Buying things that were “new” was often unattainable and so the kids learnt to make their toys from the bush. Tales of their childhood spent riding stick horses and pulling along toy trains made from rusty cans reminded me of the ingenuity and resourcefulness inherent in a child’s mind. These bush dolls remind me of those toys my Pop would make.“ Bethany Thornber, Wiradjuri artist