Yinaar
A creative exploration of Aboriginal women’s business in the New England North West
The YINAAR project required extensive consultation with Aboriginal women in the New England North West region, supported by the guidance and protocols developed in partnership with Elders and Knowledge Holders. This project achieved significant milestones, reflecting the community's aspirations while maintaining cultural sensitivity.
Elders, Knowledge Holders, and community members across the region's 12 Local Government Areas were engaged through consultation sessions and one-on-one meetings. These consultations endorsed whole-community cultural protocols, ensuring the project's alignment with the community's cultural values and aspirations. This collaborative approach established a strong foundation of trust and respect among participants.
The project was led entirely by Aboriginal women and overseen by a steering committee comprising representatives from across the region. The committee served as a critical link between Arts North West, the project team, and the community, ensuring transparent communication and adherence to cultural protocols.
In its research phase, the project drew on key resources, including Terri Janke's Pathways and Protocols and the AIATSIS Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies. Research activities were conducted on Country, in communities with strong Women’s Business practices, and through archival resources such as the Australian Museum, NSW State Library, and Dhiiyaan Unit Moree. Oral histories and multimedia documentation enriched the project's narrative and served as tools for preserving and sharing knowledge.
The project focused on elements such as Gali (water lore), food and medicine, kinship structures, healing practices, and language preservation. These themes were explored through oral histories, collaborative research, and storytelling, culminating in the creation of a series of short documentaries and case studies. While certain sensitive aspects, like Women’s Initiation Practices, were kept private, they contributed to the depth of the project's cultural exploration.
The creative outcomes included a body of work developed by Aboriginal artists from the region. These artists, guided by Elders and mentors, participated in residencies and workshops that strengthened their skills and connection to traditional knowledge. The project facilitated cultural identity building and capacity development for regional artists, fostering a unique blend of traditional and contemporary artistic practices.
The final artworks and narratives were presented through curated exhibitions at regional galleries, offering the community an opportunity to engage with the artists' journeys and stories. These exhibitions celebrated the project's success in preserving and transmitting cultural heritage while empowering Aboriginal women to share their knowledge and creativity.
THE AIM
“To deliver contemporary artistic and creative practice inspired by Aboriginal women’s traditional practices from the New England North West of NSW”
THE PROJECT SCOPE:
Stage 1 – Informed Consultation
This project is 100% Aboriginal led and will be delivered by Aboriginal women. A steering committee for the project was established with Aboriginal women from throughout the region. Their role was to act as a conduit between the Arts North West, the project team and the community. Throughout the whole project Elders and Knowledge Holders were engaged to provide cultural guidance and ensure that protocols were respected.
Stage 2 – Research & Creative Development
ANW YINAAR cultural protocols were based on two key documents: Terri Janke, Pathways and Protocols: A filmmaker’s guide to working with Indigenous people, culture and concept (2008) and AIATSIS Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies (2012). These provided the principles that will guide the Yinaar project research.
Research was undertaken both on Country and through visits to other communities who continued to have strong ‘Women’s Business” practices in place as well as desktop research and exploring current resources. Research was also undertaken, exploring resources such as the Australian Museum, NSW State Library, AIATSIS and the Dhiiyaan Unit Moree as well as other reliable resources we were able to obtain.
The research was undertaken by the Aboriginal Project Management team with a strong focus on oral history. The team documented the research in written and multi-media format and were accompanied by an Elder who provided cultural guidance throughout the research process.
Songlines and storytelling informed YINAAR. Knowledge Holders who have been identified by the community, and additional Knowledge Holders were engaged as the project evolved.
The key elements of focus:
Gali: Aboriginal women hold the lore of water, and they have a deep spiritual and cultural connection to the land, the sky and the rivers.
Food & Medicine: Type of and use of native plants, fruits and seeds including how they were/are protected, propagated, harvested and prepared.
Kinship & Responsibilities: The structure of Aboriginal families including cultural values and involving kinship responsibilities and the collaboration of clans.
Healing: Women’s traditional healing practices and how they have been adapted into a contemporary society.
Language: Use of language by Aboriginal women in a traditional and contemporary context and the importance of preserving language.
These key elements were also captured in a series of short documentaries, filmed as part of the research process.
Additionally, community asked for the project to include Women’s Initiation Practices – Women taking responsibility for themselves and each other, rites of passage into womanhood and the responsibilities that this creates. However, as this is sensitive information, the research will only be viewed by the artists, steering committee and project team and will not be published for the general public.
All completed research was presented back to the steering committee and Elders for final sign off before publishing.
Stage 3 – Creative Outcomes
YINAAR supports the transmission and development of Aboriginal cultural heritage and knowledge using the arts as the vehicle to drive the sharing, documenting and preserving of culture.
The creative component connected artists through engagement and participation in a culturally based project that broadened and deepened their understanding of Women’s Business.
Experienced Aboriginal artists were engaged through an EOI process who are Yinaar from the New England North West. This project was developed to provide skill development to build capacity for Aboriginal artists in our region and to strengthen cultural identity in our region.
Supported by Elders, project management team, steering committee and an Aboriginal curator, the artists developed a body of work that responds to the elements of the creative development stages. The artists have had valuable opportunity to connect and rebuild traditional knowledge and to develop their own unique style for use in their contemporary practice. The artists shared their experiences to community through the artworks produced and the stories recorded as well as artist talks at the exhibitions in the region.
The artists participated in the following:
3-day residency to discuss the findings from the creative development stage, share art making practices and map their body of works.
3-day art making workshop exploring new and innovative creative practices responding to the findings from the creative development stage.
Mentoring from Elders, project management team and curator.
Curated exhibitions at two regional galleries in the New England North West.
Due to the sensitivity of the project we will include the following:
Specific project steering committee.
100% Aboriginal Women’s project including artist and project team.
Specific protocols around who would have access to the oral history, how it is displayed and used, who would be the caretaker of the information at the completion of the project.
Guiding Principles and ANW Yinaar Cultural Protocols can be downloaded here.
www.artsnw.com.au/cultural-protocols
Some of the frequently asked questions we receive include:
Q. Are Elders, Knowledge Holders and artists paid?
A. Yes, all of the Elders and Knowledge Holders who participate in the project are paid.
Q. How do we select the Elders, Knowledge Holders and artists?
A. Through the consultation stage of the project we ask the community to share suggestions on who they would like to participate. We also use our network to share the project and ask for them to express interest if they would like to be involved.
Q. What Cultural Protocols are in place?
A. To ensure the integrity, inclusiveness and transparency of the project we have a comprehensive cultural protocols document that will guide us, this document is currently on our website for feedback, to view the cultural protocols and provide feedback please “click here”. In summary we will work within a set of guiding principles that will ensure we are accountable not only to the funding body but more importantly the community. Aboriginal community members are at the forefront of this project and it is important that their voice is truly heard and listened to at all levels of the project.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.