WALK-IN WORKSHOPS
SHELL ART | WEAVABLE + WEARABLE CULTURAL ART | TRADITIONAL STONE TOOLS | POSSUM SKIN DRUMS FOR MUMS + CHILDREN | FISHING SPEARS | WEAVING
Walk-In Workshops – Hands-On Culture Throughout the Day
On Saturday 22 November, throughout the day at Giiyong Festival, festival-goers are invited to immerse themselves in a series of Walk-In Workshops, each offering a unique opportunity to engage directly with Aboriginal cultural knowledge and creative practice. These hands-on sessions celebrate living culture, allowing participants to listen, learn, and make under the guidance of highly respected artists, producers and knowledge holders.
Discover the intricate beauty of Shell Art with Ashweeni Mason (Marra-Wanggan Cultural Services) and Emma Stewart (Jirribitti Dreaming), who are part of a growing movement to revive this delicate coastal craft.
Learn about Weavable and Wearable Cultural Art with Amanda Jane Reynolds, a Guringai and Yuin possum cloak-maker, artist and curator passionate about the flourishing of southeastern cultures. Learn techniques that transform traditional materials into powerful personal expression.
Watch and learn with Shane Herrington from Wolgalu Footprints, a Wolgalu Wiradjuri man and one of the country’s foremost experts on Traditional Stone Tools, as he demonstrates the ancient art of toolmaking and talks about their daily uses and importance as a trading commodity. (Ages 12+)
Join Dyagula (Wiradjuri | Gamilaraay | Ngunawal | Walgalu) — founder of the Women’s Burrbil Collective Burrbirra — for Possum Skin Drums, a workshop for Mums and Children that offers an intimate connection to the world’s first drums and the deep continuity of culture they represent. (Mums + Children)
Sit with Ray Timbery from Gadhungal Marring to explore Spear Making, learning the old ways of crafting and using spears for fishing and hunting while sharing stories that keep cultural knowledge strong.
Finally, start to wind down your festival experience with Weaving alongside Toni Hill, an accomplished weaver and artist who shares both traditional and contemporary techniques using natural materials. Get hands-on and begin a piece of your own. Toni Hill is a Walbunja woman based in Narooma NSW.
Toni says:
'Weaving for me is like a kind of therapy, My Aunty Deidre introduced it to me. Over the years I have been involved in facilitating women's groups where my skills have grown. This practice has allowed me to feel closer to my culture. I feel great joy in sharing my practices and at the Giiyong Festival, I'll be demonstrating weaving techniques using contemporary materials'.
From shell to skin, fibre to stone — these workshops offer a rare and rewarding chance to connect through culture, creativity and community.
Workshops can be joined at any time during the course of the day. Please consult the program (to be released shortly) for start times of each workshop.
You will find the Workshops Tent near the Information/Merch stall on the road down to the Aunty Marg Henry Stage (Main Stage).