June Friends Night: Stories from Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre (Yirrkala) trip

Please join us for our monthly Friends Night at Symposium by University House, located at Kambri ANU.

Tony and Anne-Marie traveled to Yirrkala, Northeast Arnhem Land in early June to visit Buku-Larrnggay Mulka arts centre. Meeting with Yolngu artists, they will be exploring possible curatorial projects, future skills sharing and exchange. At the June Friends Night they will be sharing their experiences.

The ANU’s relationship with northeast Arnhem land Yolngu artists, based in Yirrkala, stretches back at least as far as 1973, when ANU Emeritus Professor Howard Morphy undertook his PhD research in anthropology, studying bark paintings and social change. This relationship developed when, in 1978, Yolngu artists Narritjin and Banapana Maymuru (Djarrakpi country, Yolngu people, Manggalili language/clan, Yirritja moiety) came to ANU as the first Indigenous recipients of the ANU Creative Arts Fellowship. Their bark paintings, made during their stay in Canberra, contributed significantly to the foundational collection of First Nations works that now enrich the ANU Art Collection.

Over recent years the ANU Drill Hall Gallery has developed a productive working relationship with Yolngu artists from Buku-Larrnggay Mulka arts centre in Yirrkala, through exhibitions and publications related to their bark paintings, including; Fluent 2023; Heart of Country, 2022; The World is not a Foreign Land, 2014; Abstractions 2003; and Saltwater, 1999. The ANU Art Collection holds many significant bark works from Yirrkala and has developed programs in conjunction with ANU academics, to expand public awareness of the works and their contribution to our understanding of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal art, as well as the role they have played in land and sea rights cases. Canberra sculptor Leo Loomans, who exhibited with Yirrkala artist Ms. N Marawili in our 2023 exhibition Fluent, was subsequently invited to Yirrkala to work with the artists in their metal shop.

House Wines and platters are included in the ticket.

We are pleased to announce that Symposium by University House has joined as a sponsor of the Friends of the Drill Hall Gallery program. Show your membership card to receive $3 coffees Tuesday – Friday.

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Getting there

Travel by public transport

• You can get to Kambri Precinct by bus and light rail.
• The nearest bus stop is on Childers Street. The bus stop is 0.2 km from Kambri Precinct.
• The nearest light rail stop is on Alina Street Canberra City. The light rail stop is 1.0 km from the Kambri Precinct.
• University Avenue provides an accessible pathway from Chiders Street to Kambri District.

Travel by taxi

• You can get an accessible taxi with 13WATS
• Accessible taxis should be booked in advance. To access Kambri Precinct please ask to be dropped off at the end of Kingsley Street, Acton

Parking

Accessible parking on Acton campus

Free disability parking is available for those with a valid Australian mobility permit or an ANU mobility permit. Disability parking spaces on campus are clearly signposted. The ANU Designated parking areas map shows locations of disability parking spaces.

Mobility permit holders may, in line with Australia wide practice, park in disability parking bays, in paid parking areas at no charge or in time limited zones. If the sign posted time limit is up to 30 minutes mobility permit holders may park for up to 2 hours. If the sign posted time limit is 30 minutes or longer mobility permit holders may park all day. Detail visitors are able to park with passes – students and staff need to apply for an ANU accessibility park pass.

• There is also paid parking at Kambri Precinct in our underground car park; with 330 spaces, 8 of which are reserved for disability parking.
• The underground Kambri car park has elevator access to the street level. There are intercoms located at the entrance, exit and pay machines if assistance is required.
• There is access to Joplin Lane from the Kambri car park on the southern side from the entry.
• Parking is free for three hours on Saturdays and Sundays in the Kambri Car Park.
• The car park is located at the corner of Kingsley Street and Tangney Road, Acton and offers affordable, secure underground parking, utilising the latest ticketless parking system technology.
• There is 15-minutes-free access to the car park for drop-offs and pick-ups, with hourly, early bird, after 5pm, weekend, event and competitive monthly rates also available.
• Please contact Carepark for information on special rates: P +61 2 9299 6767. E nswsales@carepark.com.au
• For further information on the underground carpark please go to carepark.com.au