Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Monday 01 July
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
It’s cold outside, but in the cosy surrounds of the Moat, we’re gathering for four consecutive Mondays of Indigenous storytelling.
Oral storytelling is almost a lost art in these days of blogs, high-speed broadband and e-books. But it’s a rare pleasure to pause in our busy lives and immerse ourselves in the magic and power of the spoken word. Australia has a rich oral tradition, which we’ll rekindle in these evenings, with the crackling atmosphere of fireside tales.
Bunjilaka curator Genevieve Grieves and Miles Franklin shortlisted writer Tony Birch will curate – and co-host – a series of intimate evenings around the themes of Country, Sky, Water and Fire.
These elements are rich sources for creating meaningful stories that engage with the Australian landscape, either personally or politically. The stories will be a mix of traditional and contemporary, reflecting the diversity of concerns and inspirations for Indigenous writers today.
Our hosts will be joined by a hand-picked selection of superb storytellers, including both performers and writers.
For Country, we’ll be joined by Vicki Couzens, Ron Murray and Jane Harrison.
Country
Strong people, strong culture, strong country.
In speaking our language we awaken the spirit.
Language, story, song and dance resonate with
country and place. The voice of our land is heard
in our language and songs.
Vicki Couzens
Featuring
Genevieve Grieves
Genevieve Grieves is an Indigenous educator, curator, filmmaker, artist, oral historian, researcher and writer who has accumulated nearly 20 years experience in the arts and culture industries. She is Worimi – traditionally from mid-north coast New South Wales – but has lived and worked on Kulin Country for many years.
Genevieve has a role as a public intellectual and speaker and teaches at the University of Melbourne, where she is also undertaking her PhD.She was the lead curator of the First Peoples exhibition, Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre at the Melbourne Museum, which opened in November 2013.
Genevieve has previously worked with the Koorie Heritage Trust as an oral historian, and then on both the Mission Voices website for the ABC and as a field producer on First Australians for SBS television. She has produced a documentary called Lani’s Story.
Ron Murray
Ron Murray is a Wamba Wamba man (Swan Hill area) living at Yapeen, near Castlemaine, in central Victoria on Jaara country. He is a cultural educator, storyteller, musician, didgeridoo maker and wood sculptor.
He has made beautiful art pieces for Muhammad Ali, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Sir Bob Geldof, American composer Philip Glass, and Harlem Dance Company, to name a few.
Ron has an international reputation as a didgeridoo soloist, having performed widely in Australia, and also in New York, Jordon, Canada and New Zealand. He also performs as part of the Celtic-Indigenous fusion duo, Kinja, with fiddler/vocalist Sarah James.
He has recently received his MA (Education) from RMIT University. His thesis looked at how Indigenous knowledges can combat racist attitudes in the wider community. He has been employed by Victoria Police, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and is currently Indigenous trainer for Diversity@Work.