Set of two Newspaper clippings from The Courier, Ballarat, 8 July 2021 .1 - titled "Congratulations to the Ballarat Tramway Museum on receiving $1.2m from the Andrews Government for track replacement.". Item sponsored by Juliana Addison MP. Has a photo of 10 people alongside Geelong No. 2 at the time of the announcement. .2 - "First Nations Art on the move" - featuring a photo of a B class tram, by Deanne Gilson (local Ballarat artist) and Thomas Marks. Photo by James Morgan.art work, transporting art, b class

My name is Deanne Gilson and I am a proud Wadawurrung woman living on my ancestral Country around Ballarat in Victoria. My practise aims to highlight and bring back traditional women’s symbols and ceremonial practises that reference the lived experience of my ancestors. By reviving traditional marks found on artefacts and women’s business, I am forming links with past ancestral knowledge so that is not lost and continues for the future generations. My art practice relies heavily on the use of symbols and form as a metaphor for the body. I have worked as a full-time artist for over thirty-five years. Many artworks tell stories of the spiritual aspects of culture and myths. Dreaming and Songlines, further creating a yarning space, bring the gap towards reconciliation and healing for my people and others through shared sharing stories. A main focus of my art practice tells the birthing tree and scar tree stories and how Wadawurrung women have evolved and survived, since before and after colonisation. The old symbols find new life, connecting to the contemporary ones, further connecting us all to this Country we all call home.Yaluk, Beep, Murrup, meaning Water, Country, Spirit, incorporates the traditional mark of the wave pattern (often found on wooden shields) used by my ancestors, along with the basalt plains across Wadawurrung Country. By depicting the interaction between the Water and Country, I use ancestral knowledges that are not seen but intuitive to myself, while juxtaposing them against the ancestral stone circle knowledges, embedded with the DNA of our stories. The ochre is reclaimed as real, it is marni-beek, meaning Country, in particular the white ceremonial ochre, often seen on the painted-up figure and used today to reconnect back to our ancestral memory. Reclaiming what was lost through colonisation, but still present in our Dreaming that flows on today through the water spirit. Country has no time limits and water connects to our bodies, which are made up of water. We as a clan, are still here today, living and being on Country, our ancestral spirits live on through us. The original painting is a contemporary account of using ochre to reclaim ancestral knowledge and to be part of the ceremony that is yaluk, beep, murrup. wadawurrung, deanne gilson, water, country, spirit, first nations art

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future). The colours of this cloak refer to natural pink ochre and indigenous flowering plants on Wadawurrung Dja. The pink ochre is sourced by Deanne Gilson at Black Hill in Ballarat, Victoria. Men also made woven dilly bags to hold their possessions in. The basket making was an ongoing aspect of daily life for Wadawurrung people and often done in cooler months when the weather was too bad to go outside. Many women and family groups had their own style and techniques that were traded amongst other groups. Wadawurrung women had a particular stitch they used and incorporated elaborate symbols into the basket designs. Tammy Gilson’s weaving represents this stitch. This cloak pays homage to them and the changing seasons as they created, particularly the cooler months leading into the warmer season when several gum blossom flower. This cloak was worn once by artist Deanne Gilson at a formal opening at the Art Gallery of Ballarat in 2022. A Welcome to Country ceremony was performed while wearing it.Pink native flower in baskets motif on a pink background on outer cloak, pink and white diamond and circle design in lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future). The black swan cloak refers to the black swan of Geelong and Ballarat were the swan has had its own fight to survive during the early colonial years where white swans were introduced by colonisers and the black swan fought back as they do not naturally get along. The wave pattern is taken from a traditional shield pattern held in the Melbourne Museum, South Eastern archive collection of shields. The wave refers to the water and travelling across water to fish, hunt and survive. This cloak is about survival, water, and the swan living on the water. It also refers to a contemporary dance of Kunuwarra the black swan, which was performed by a group Wadawurrung women (including artist Deanne Gilson) for Tanderrum (Melbourne – Naarm) in 2016. The dance is available to watch on youtube.Black swan, heart motif with water design on outer cloak, female figure and red native flower design on lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, first nations art, wadawurrung dja

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future).The sacred banksia tree was a favourite for Wadawurrung people. Flowering before deep Winter, the banksia was used for spear making and other wooden tools. The sap was drunk as a sweet drink and the seed pods used for water straining and fire sticks. The banksia tree flowers at the time when fire sticks farming is practiced marking the days before the coldest days and nights and the hotter days.White, orange, and yellow banksia design on outer cloak, yellow and white circle and diamond design in lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art, cloak

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future. The white ochre was used to create the feather pattern. White ochre is deeply connected to spirit or ‘murrup’ as we call it in language. The ochre is used on our bodies in ceremonies to paint our body up and is also placed on graves when someone passes. The white ochre is our most sacred connection to our ancestors and is used to celebrate both life and death. I source the white ochre from the You Yangs and only take what I need for ceremony and my painting.White and black feather motif with yellow eye design on outer clock, brown feather motif in lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art, cloak

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future). Bunjil the eagle used to be a man called Karringalabil. As a man he created the first man and woman out of bark from the sacred manna gum tree and clay from the river bed. He created the plants, animals, mountains, waterways, sky and under Country. After which he turned himself into an eagle. He has two wives, Kunuwarra the black swan sisters. After he completed all of creation he flew up into the sky at Lal Lal Falls and he now watched over us as a star in the night sky and as an eagle by day.Brown, red and white tone feather motif with yellow eye design on outer clock, red and black diamond and circle design in lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art, cloak

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future). Waa the Crow Totem Cloak (Waa represents our ancestors watching over us). Waa and all the birds get their names by the sounds the bird makes.Blue feather motif with blue star background on outer clock, blue and black feather design in lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art, cloak

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future. The murnong was one of the main food sources for First Peoples before colonisation as it grew right across Wadawurrung Dja. The introduction of the sheep and cattle saw the murnong eaten roots and all and it quickly became less plentiful. The tubers were eaten raw or roasted on a fire. Water could be added to make a paste for small children to eat. The woman’s wooden digging stick that was used to gather and harvest plants was often buried with the woman for her afterlife and is considered sacred women’s knowledge. All parts of the plants and trees were and still are honoured as sacred medicine, healing plants and bush food knowledge.Yellow flower and female figure motif on black background on outer cloak, black and white diamond, and circle design in lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art, cloak, murnong

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future). This cloak represents a traditional shield and stands for strength, resilience and standing proud. It protects us as we move forward. The gold represents the gold fields of Ballarat and Golden Plains shire. It also represents fool’s gold (pyrite) as First People had no use of gold, instead the people are the gold.Black, white, and red stripe design with flower and stem motif on outer cloak. Lining is a red and white stripe motif. Trimming is solid black. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art, cloak, murnong

Standing proud, still here, the spirit of ten ancestral matriarchs adorned in contemporary ceremonial cloaks. Representing our women past, present and future, her Spirit, our culture, our Country (spelt with a capital for its importance and this is part of First Peoples protocols on acknowledging Country, our strength, our resilience and healing towards a sustainable future). Deanne states that this is her favourite season and she loves painting the small orchids as they flower after the cold season begins to clear.Black cloak with pink and purple toned flower motif on outer cloak, purple and black diamond, and circle design in lining. Solid black trimming. Cloak is machine sewn and handstitched with hand stitching on shoulder seam.deanne gilson, wadawurrung dja, first nations art, cloak, murnong

Waa Waa – Crow Feathers is a painting from Aunty Marlene Gilson’s 2022 exhibition ‘Bunjil Wour Kun Ya – Spirit of My Ancestors’. This work tells the story of Waa-Waa, the first Wadawurrung to see a white man, Matthew Flinders and his crew surveying the southern Australian coastline near the You Yangs on 1 May 1802. Speaking to Wyndham Art Gallery’s curatorial framework themes of Foregrounding, Habitat and Localism, the work portrays in Wadawurrung lore the first sighting of a European and acknowledges Australian First Nations peoples original and ongoing connections with land, history, politics and knowledges of place. The scene is overlooking the You Yangs which is deeply connected with the local place and habitat of the Werribee Plain. Aunty Marlene Gilson is a Wathaurung (Wadawarrung) Elder living on country in Gordon, near Ballarat. Marlene Gilson’s multi-figure paintings work to overturn the colonial grasp on the past by reclaiming and re-contextualising the representation of historical events. Learning her Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Gilson began painting while recovering from an illness. The artist’s meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting. Gilson, however, privileges those stories relating to her ancestral land, which covers Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong, Skipton and the Otway Ranges in Victoria. Often including her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, Gilson’s paintings not only reconfigure historical narratives, but display her spiritual connection to Country. australian first nations art, cultural story, australian painting, wathaurung, female artist

Invasion places an imaginative eye in Australian colonial history and turns around the dominant view, taking alien creatures into iconic London-based cityscapes, with white urban residents their victims. Cook's images express the shock that enveloped the Australian continent when European people appeared on Aboriginal shores. Aboriginals as aliens, sci-fi scaled animals - featherless birds, super sized grubs, giant lizards, possums on ufo's, laser shooting fembots, and clouds of rainbow lorikeets - arrive into urban London, the 'mother' country, and wreak havoc. Within the broad narrative are mini narratives that speak to the past, historical references that tease out and reverse the racist practices imposed on Aboriginals. The drama of such an event heightened with the use of vintage-inspired B-grade horror movie aesthetic - an ironic 'spoofy' edge.australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, sci-fi

Since our early ancestors first glimpsed their reflection in water the mirror has served as our most immediate means of personal identification. While our sene of self is intricately linked to our physical image, the discovery of DNA and subsequent mapping of the human genome has introduced a new mode of observation and level ofperception, on the one hand acutely defining out personal differences, while at the same time extending our awareness beyond the bounds of individualism and enabling us to witness our undeniable bonds with the rest of the natural world. This work has multiple levels of meaning, drawing on DNA sequencing patterns as living code, while high lighting the very fluidity created between extremes of biological distinction and our shifting states of identity and perception. public art, australian first nations art

Invasion places an imaginative eye in Australian colonial history and turns around the dominant view, taking alien creatures into iconic London-based cityscapes, with white urban residents their victims. Cook's images express the shock that enveloped the Australian continent when European people appeared on Aboriginal shores. Aboriginals as aliens, sci-fi scaled animals - featherless birds, super sized grubs, giant lizards, possums on ufo's, laser shooting fembots, and clouds of rainbow lorikeets - arrive into urban London, the 'mother' country, and wreak havoc. Within the broad narrative are mini narratives that speak to the past, historical references that tease out and reverse the racist practices imposed on Aboriginals. The drama of such an event heightened with the use of vintage-inspired B-grade horror movie aesthetic - an ironic 'spoofy' edge.australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, sci-fi

A central tableau is beautifully lit to expose choreographed arrangements of plants, animals, objects and food. Grounded in a photographic aesthetic that echoes Dutch Old Master paintings, they examine the industry and practices that have so effectively brought damage to traditional Aboriginal culture, the natural environment of the Australian continent – and the globe. Each image explores an aspect of the devastating impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations peoples, and the global repercussions of environmental degradation. The translation of the French in the title of this series, “Natures mortes” is dead nature. Yet in the simmering emotional register of each image lies an inherent belief in the individual over environment, and the redemptive nature of culture. australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, environment

A central tableau is beautifully lit to expose choreographed arrangements of plants, animals, objects and food. Grounded in a photographic aesthetic that echoes Dutch Old Master paintings, they examine the industry and practices that have so effectively brought damage to traditional Aboriginal culture, the natural environment of the Australian continent – and the globe. Each image explores an aspect of the devastating impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations peoples, and the global repercussions of environmental degradation. The translation of the French in the title of this series, “Natures mortes” is dead nature. Yet in the simmering emotional register of each image lies an inherent belief in the individual over environment, and the redemptive nature of culture. australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, environment

A central tableau is beautifully lit to expose choreographed arrangements of plants, animals, objects and food. Grounded in a photographic aesthetic that echoes Dutch Old Master paintings, they examine the industry and practices that have so effectively brought damage to traditional Aboriginal culture, the natural environment of the Australian continent – and the globe. Each image explores an aspect of the devastating impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations peoples, and the global repercussions of environmental degradation. The translation of the French in the title of this series, “Natures mortes” is dead nature. Yet in the simmering emotional register of each image lies an inherent belief in the individual over environment, and the redemptive nature of culture. australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, environment

A central tableau is beautifully lit to expose choreographed arrangements of plants, animals, objects and food. Grounded in a photographic aesthetic that echoes Dutch Old Master paintings, they examine the industry and practices that have so effectively brought damage to traditional Aboriginal culture, the natural environment of the Australian continent – and the globe. Each image explores an aspect of the devastating impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations peoples, and the global repercussions of environmental degradation. The translation of the French in the title of this series, “Natures mortes” is dead nature. Yet in the simmering emotional register of each image lies an inherent belief in the individual over environment, and the redemptive nature of culture. australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, environment

A central tableau is beautifully lit to expose choreographed arrangements of plants, animals, objects and food. Grounded in a photographic aesthetic that echoes Dutch Old Master paintings, they examine the industry and practices that have so effectively brought damage to traditional Aboriginal culture, the natural environment of the Australian continent – and the globe. Each image explores an aspect of the devastating impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations peoples, and the global repercussions of environmental degradation. The translation of the French in the title of this series, “Natures mortes” is dead nature. Yet in the simmering emotional register of each image lies an inherent belief in the individual over environment, and the redemptive nature of culture. australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, environment

A central tableau is beautifully lit to expose choreographed arrangements of plants, animals, objects and food. Grounded in a photographic aesthetic that echoes Dutch Old Master paintings, they examine the industry and practices that have so effectively brought damage to traditional Aboriginal culture, the natural environment of the Australian continent – and the globe. Each image explores an aspect of the devastating impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations peoples, and the global repercussions of environmental degradation. The translation of the French in the title of this series, “Natures mortes” is dead nature. Yet in the simmering emotional register of each image lies an inherent belief in the individual over environment, and the redemptive nature of culture. australian first nations art, photography, colonialisation, environment

This artwork is a story of life over coming darkness. Rebirth and renewal. As a Bunurong person this story means a lot to my people, this represents community past, present and future and the struggles we have had to overcome to become the people we are today in the world we are today. Kobi Summers is a young emerging Aboriginal Artist, who is a Proud Bunurong Man living in Melbourne. He specialises in Digital Art, Contemporary aboriginal Canvas Art, Mural Art and Clothing Art.australian first nations art, bunurong, cultural story

Karen Casey (1956 – 2021) Palawaaustralian first nations art, female artist, projection, video art

This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling. african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital, australian first nations art, first nations photography

This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital, australian first nations art, first nations photography

This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital, australian first nations art, first nations photography

This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital, australian first nations art, first nations photography

This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.african diaspora, portrait, photography, digital, australian first nations art, first nations photography

This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.african diaspora, digital, portrait, photography, australian first nations art, first nations photography

This work was created during a program called Flipping the Script, funded via Wyndham City Council and Creative Victoria, August - September 2018. The project was aimed at young women from the African diaspora, to provide an opportunity to learn methods of digital and visual storytelling.african diaspora, digital, portrait, photography, australian first nations art, first nations photography