Community Arts Network

First contact. First fences. First farms.

Now, learn the First Nations story of Menang Country, beginning at Strawberry Hill at Barmup—a site of immense cultural significance, disrupted by British colonisation.

You’re invited to experience Mapping Menang, an exhibition that will immerse you in stories of family, Country and connection, shared by Menang Elders and community members. This exhibition is the culmination of two years of community engagement, sharing of intergenerational knowledge, archival research and art-making.

Mapping Menang
Date: 29 November 2026 – 20 March 2027
Times: Wednesday - Sunday 9:30AM - 2:30PM
Location: Barmup/Strawberry Hill
174 Middleton Road Albany 6330 WA
Entry: Free
More info: https://www.can.org.au/news/mapping-menang-exhibition

The National Trust of Western Australia
Lotterywest
AusGov Office for the Arts
The City of Albany

Mapping Menang exhibition You’re invited to experience Mapping Menang, an exhibition that will immerse you in stories of family, Country and connection, shared by Menang Elders and community members.

“I enjoy the singing in the language, you know, because my grandparents are long gone, and I never got that chance to learn the language. So I think it's lovely now at my age, so I can teach my kids and grandkids.”

Susan Jetta, grandmother and participant in Noongar Lullabies Pingelly

What a beautiful day we had in Pingelly and Quairading, recording the song ‘Yongka Bardang’ (Kangaroo Jumps). The song was created and recorded by members of the Pingelly Koorlanga Waabiny and Quairading Moorditj Nyoongar playgroups, with musicians Kobi Arthur Morrison and Cyndy Moody, during the Noongar Nursery Rhymes project.

We also had a chance to chat to some of the participants about how this project preserves and celebrates Noongar language. Read all about it in our latest blog post, enjoy these gorgeous photos of the recording sessions, taken by Cole Baxter, and stay tuned for the release of ‘Yongka Bardang’!

Read the blog post: https://www.can.org.au/news/learning-language-is-life-changing

Pictured are photos from the recording day, taken by Cole Baxter.
Captions: Susan Jetta with her granddaughter; playgroup members at Pingelly recording session; young Quairading playgroup graduates recording with Cyndy Moody; Kobi Arthur Morrison and Cyndy Moody; learning the song with Kobi and Cyndy in Quairading; Cyndy and Kobi making a recording of the song in Quairading.

Playgroup WA Aboriginal Playgroup - Laverton, Menzies, Quairading, Pingelly
Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport
Healthway
AusGov Office for the Arts

And they're off! ✈️

CAN's Unfinished Business project team and lead artists are winging their way to Western Sumatra to meet Minangkabau artists, explore galleries, and visit the mountain highland villages of the Minang people.

Unfinished Business is a Noongar cultural revival project grounded in matriarchy, and the Minang people belong to the largest matrilineal society in the world!

Artists Sharyn Egan and Yabini Kickett, CAN's Michelle White and Rebecca McCauley and Quairading Community Coordinator Cynthia Yarran will travel to Yogyakarta and then Sumatra for this once-in-a-lifetime cultural exchange.

This trip was made possible thanks to funding from Creative Australia's Creative Futures Fund which invests in projects of scale and ambition.

Read more about Unfinished Business: https://www.can.org.au/community/unfinished-business/badjaling

Pictured L-R: Cynthia Yarran, Michelle White, Yabini Kickett and Sharyn Egan

Creative Australia
Lotterywest

An exciting part of the process for the Mapping Leschenault team has been transitioning from the creative development phase, which saw a large number of monoprints made on Country and in the studio, into preparation and planning for their upcoming exhibition at Wardandi Art Gallery on Friday 6 November.

All elements of the creative phase – such as walks on Country, storytelling, print-making, intergenerational sharing, memory – become woven into the next so it's been a delight to reflect back, discuss and share visions together as a powerful group of Elders, artists, innovators and change-makers.

This really is an example of the creative process is just as important as the exhibition itself. Our collective curation has led us on a path of innovation and we can't wait to show you our cultural mapping project – highlighting connection to Country around the Leschenault Estuary.

Pictured are photos from the latest Mapping Leschenault workshops // Credit Hugh Sando
Pictured: Dawn Alone, Janine Williams, Alice Khan, Lera Bennell, Korrine Bennell, Dellas Bennell, Rebecca Lyon Augustus & Pip Kelly

AusGov Office for the Arts
Lotterywest
Leschenault Catchment Council

It’s just one week til ‘Legacies Karlkurla/Kalgoorlie: Stories from Silky Pear Country’ opens at John Curtin Gallery!

After premiering at Kalgoorlie’s Museum of the Goldfields, this seminal First Nations-led multimedia exhibition is making its way to Boorloo/Perth, with powerful, poignant and at times heartbreaking stories that capture critical moments in Australian history.

Celebrating the life journeys of ten respected Aboriginal Elders from the Goldfields region this exhibition features portraits by internationally-acclaimed Djugun-Yawuru photographer Michael Jalaru Torres, and podcast conversations hosted by Spinifex Anangu broadcaster Debbie Carmody.

‘Legacies Karlkurla’ runs 17 September - 21 October 2026; Monday to Friday 10am - 5pm; Sunday 12pm - 4pm; at John Curtin Gallery, Building 200A, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Western Australia 6102. Entry is free.
https://www.can.org.au/news/experience-stories-from-silky-pear-country-in-boorloo

Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport
Creative Australia
Community Broadcasting Foundation
Tjuma Pulka 96.3 FM
John Curtin Gallery

Experience stories from Silky Pear Country… in Boorloo Legacies Karlkurla/Kalgoorlie is heading to John Curtin Gallery, so that Boorloo/Perth audiences can experience this seminal First Nations-led multi-media storytelling exhibition.

We’re loving these artworks created by young people from the Badgebup Junior Rangers, Katanning Senior High School and Kojonup District High School!

The artworks have been made in response to the song that has been written during the residency, which is titled ‘Same Storm’ (it’s a banger, we can’t wait to share it with you!) – some of these artworks will be used in the accompanying music video as animation, some will be used on this year’s Now Sounds merch and some in the zine that is being made by project participants to capture the creative process that’s unfurled over our year in Katanning.

Australian Government Department of Social Services
Healthway
Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation
Katanning Senior High School
Shire of Katanning
Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport
Creative Australia

We’re thrilled to announce that the seminal Elders storytelling exhibition ‘Legacies Kalgoorlie/Karlkurla: Stories from Silky Pear Country’ is making its way from the Goldfields to Boorloo/Perth this September!

Grounded in truth, resilience, respect and triumph, ‘Legacies Kalgoorlie/Karlkurla’ celebrates the life stories of ten respected Aboriginal Elders from the Goldfields region, through portraits by internationally acclaimed photographer Michael Jalaru Torres and podcast conversations hosted by Spinifex Anangu broadcaster Debbie Carmody.

‘Legacies Karlkurla (Kalgoorlie): Stories From Silky Pear Country’
When: 17 – 21 October 2026 (NB closing date has been updated since our eNews went out!)
Where: John Curtin Gallery, Building 200A, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Western Australia 6102.
Opening times: Monday to Friday 10am - 5pm; Sunday 12pm - 4pm
Entry: FREE

Read more: https://www.can.org.au/news/experience-stories-from-silky-pear-country-in-boorloo

Photo: Janice Scott // credit Michael Jalaru Torres

Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport
Creative Australia
Community Broadcasting Foundation
Tjuma Pulka 96.3 FM
John Curtin Gallery

Experience stories from Silky Pear Country… in Boorloo Legacies Karlkurla/Kalgoorlie is heading to John Curtin Gallery, so that Boorloo/Perth audiences can experience this seminal First Nations-led multi-media storytelling exhibition.

Djilba is a season of growth and transition so it feels fitting that our August eNews’ headline is the appointment of our new Chair Zali Morgan.

It is with deepest sadness and fondest memories that we honour Aunty Winnie McHenry, Noongar Elder and matriarch, and the inspiration behind CAN's Unfinished Business project.

In this issue you’ll also read about the creative dividends being paid in the second iteration of High VisAbility, two upcoming exhibitions that will immerse you in First Nations stories, the new Noongar song and book that’s being created during Noongar Nursery Rhymes… and more!

Read all about it in the Djilba/August edition of the CAN eNews, out now.
https://email.can.org.au/t/t-e-ydlliijy-l-yh/

We are so proud to announce that CAN has been appointed by the WA Government to be part of the Bicentenary Planning Advisory Group (BPAG), along with Reconciliation WA and Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company.

Our role, alongside Reconciliation WA and Yirra Yaakin, is to consult communities across WA to find out how they want to see the Bicentenary marked. This feedback will be used to guide the development of a shared vision for the year-long commemoration of the Bicentenary, one that is shaped by the diversity of WA’s communities, and builds social cohesion and inclusion.

Read more about this exciting project on the CAN website: https://www.can.org.au/community/bicentenary-planning-advisory-group/was-2029-bicentenary

WA Government
Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company
Reconciliation WA

WA's 2029 Bicentenary Planning Appointed by the WA Government, CAN is proud to be part of the Bicentenary Planning Advisory Group, alongside Reconciliation WA and Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company.

Congratulations to CAN Chair Zali Morgan, who has been selected as the West Australian representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale Delegates Program.

Zali joins seven other early-mid career visual arts practitioners – from each state or territory – to take part in this Creative Australia initiative, which is designed to give delegates opportunities to exchange ideas, develop networks and seed future collaborations at this seminal international event.

We are so proud of Zali and can’t wait to hear about her adventures in Venice!

Pictured: CAN Chair Zali Morgan. Credit: Nic Duncan