The month-long Weave Festival (March 1-31), offers an extensive and in-depth experience of Aboriginal and Pacific cultures.
Weave features the stunning virtual reality documentary Carriberrie, which showcases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island dance, both traditional and contemporary. Ranging from excerpts performed by contemporary Indigenous dance company, Bangarra, from their hugely successful Bennelong to Honey Carrier, a Kuku-Yalanji ceremony performed in the Kuranda rain forest, portraying the process of honey cultivation, Carriberrie is an exhilarating experience.
The festival also offers several participatory experiences. Museum goers can learn weaving techniques passed down for hundreds of generations from Elders and master weavers, they can take part in Winhangadhurinya (the Wiradjuri word for meditation) guided by Aboriginal cultural practitioners, and an under-5s program, led by Aboriginal educators, teach kids about local Gadigal culture.
A highlight of this inaugural festival is the on-site creation of nawis (canoes) for an upcoming sculptural installation paying respect to Aboriginal fisherwomen who were written out of the historical record for a long period of time. The public can contribute to the installation by making woven bara (fishhooks).
Australian Museum Creative Producer (First Nations) Laura McBride said: “The most rewarding and accurate way to learn about another culture is from the people themselves. Weave is a new opportunity to immerse yourself in Aboriginal and Pacific culture in events and exhibitions, designed and led by Aboriginal and Pacific people.”
