2020 NAIDOC WEEK ARTWORK BY JARRED FRANEY, IRRETYE ART, and LALIN MANADO
Words by artist and HelpingMinds® Aboriginal Engagement Officer, Jarred Franey, Irretye Art
The artwork was designed to represent HelpingMinds’ values – Hope, Collaboration, Trust, Integrity, Respect and the 2020 NAIDOC Week theme – Always Was, Always Will Be.
The centre of the design shows unity within HelpingMinds, with their story on the outer ring and centrepiece supporting their clients in the community with the many services they provide and community workshops they deliver.
The five core values of HelpingMinds® are shown in the blue outer ring. This design represents and pays respect to the land and water of the diverse Aboriginal language groups where HelpingMinds® staff live and work on. These values are linked closely together which governs the structure of the organisation. These values are lived and practised by staff every day to ensure they are providing the best possible service to their clients and community.
The meeting places on the outside represent the Aboriginal communities that HelpingMinds® are situated in and work closely with to support carers and their families. The journey lines that connect the communities together as First Nations people show the stories of growth and learning being passed down to the younger generations, learning cultural practices today by many families.
The animal designs were created by Kimberley Nimamburr artist, Lalin Manado, to reflect some of the main sources of food that are hunted in the waterways and ocean in the Kimberley: mud crab, stingray, reef shark and barramundi. The waterholes in the background show how all water sources and waterways are connected, being the source of life for all living on this land; utilising the tides and the seasons to locate the certain food sources provided during that time.
The tradition of going out to hunt and gather foods local to the regions and teaching the purpose of all fauna and flora has been a continuous practice for thousands of years of the first nations people of Australia and is still taught to this day “Always Was, Always Will Be!”
#NAIDOC2020 #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe
