Acknowledgement of Country

Dharug

Bayadyinyang budyari Dharug yiyura Dharug Ngurra.
Bayady’u budyari Dharug Warunggadgu baranyiin barribugu.
Bayady’u budyari wagulgu yiyuragu Ngurra bimalgu Blacktown City. Flannel flowers dyurali bulbuwul.
Yanmannyang mudayi Dharug Ngurrawa. Walama ngyini budbud dali Dharug Ngurra Dharug yiyura baranyiin barribugu.

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English

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this Land, the Dharug people, and their continued connection to Country.
We pay our respects to Elders from yesterday to tomorrow.
We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Blacktown City where the flannel flowers still grow proud and strong.
We will walk softly on this land and open our hearts to Country as the Dharug people have for tens of thousands of years.

Credit to: Dharug woman Rhiannon Wright, daughter of Leanne ‘Mulgo’ Watson Redpath and granddaughter of Aunty Edna Watson

Costume making with Justine and Leila

Costume making with Justine and Leila
Storytelling through costume making

Free school holiday workshops for LGBTQIA+ young people (ages 12-25) living in the Blacktown area.

Explore your connections to place and community, and turn these personal stories into wearable pieces. Led by artists Justine Youssef and Leila El Rayes, you will learn how to make spectacular costumes and adornments from items that can be found around the home.

 

A figure stands tall in the middle of this photographic portrait amidst the Auburn Botanic Japanese Gardens. The non-binary figure is wearing two giant bright orange paper mache Nike Tn sneakers on their feet, one giant bright green paper mache Nike Tn sneaker on their head, one Adidas bumbag and reflective tracksuit pants. There are bright green trees behind them with pink flowers. A figure is squatting on a stone with their back to the camera amidst the pond of the Auburn Botanic Japanese Gardens in this photographic portrait. Red, yellow and white flower petals line the pond and the stone. The colorful flora of the gardens can be seen in the background. The non-binary figure is wearing bright green acrylic nail clip-ons, a bright green t-shirt, bright green slides, and a navy blue Adidas wind-breaker. Feathered wings adorn their back, a toy-store halo is floating above their head, and fake tattoos are lined down their fore-arm. Their hand is raised and resting behind their head.

 

WHO:
For young people aged 12-25 living in the Blacktown LGA who identify as LGBTQIA+ or who may be questioning.

WHEN:
Mondays 28 September and 5 October
Thursdays 1 October and 8 October
1 – 4 pm

WHERE:
You will have the option of participating via Zoom or in person at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre, 78 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown.
If you are joining via Zoom you are not obligated to use your microphone or video function to engage.
In-person workshops will comply with Covid-19 regulations.

COST: Free

Image Credits:

Leila el Rayes and Justine Youssef, ‘Say Swear’, 2019, video still, three channel video installation, dimensions variable.

Summer 2025

Summer 2025

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