YIRRAMBOI - banj ba walert : water and possum

Produced by Stacie Nicholson-Piper for YIRRAMBOI, this immersive story is presented to honour Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Vicki Nicholson-Brown, exploring the Wurundjeri tradition of possum skin drums and the creation of water dance.

This is a free exhibition. Audiences will be immersed in a 360° audio experience, where the deep, resonant beats of the possum skin drum intertwined with breathtaking visuals on the large screen, creating a powerful connection to local Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung culture and storytelling. Audiences will have both sitting and standing options.

Artist statement

There is healing power in renewing another cultural practice that was interrupted, a practice embodied by our ancestors for thousands of generations. We awaken and evolve the making and playing of possum skin drums, through the hands of our Elder, Aunty Vicki, our cultural knowledge keeper and maker of her framed drum over three decades ago.

The importance of our possum drumming runs deep, it is the heartbeat of country, it is the first sound we hear in our mother’s womb, in our grandmother’s womb and it is an instrument that brings people together across the globe. We beat our drums together once again for the first time since pre-contact, and heal with our community, our ancestors, our land, our waterways, our spirit animals, our kin and our kirip through an honouring of a Wurundjeri matriarch and our life force banj, water.

About YIRRAMBOI

In the local languages of the Boonwurrung and Woi-wurrung peoples, YIRRAMBOI means TOMORROW.

This biennial arts Festival platforms the interconnectedness and diversity of First Nations creatives, locally, nationally and internationally.

“Deeply rooted in purpose, YIRRAMBOI platforms expressions of culture, identity, unity and truth through evolutionary and experimental practices, breaking away from preconceived ideas of First Nations ‘art’. YIRRAMBOI provides a stage for First Nations voices to be heard, for stories to reverberate through generations, to drive change and create a future where First Peoples are rightly celebrated.”- Sherene Stewart (Taungurung/Filipino) and J-Maine Beezley (Wakka Wakka/Kabi Kabi), festival Co-leads.

YIRRAMBOI Festival returns from 1–11 May – head to their website to view the full program.