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YOTHU YINDI & DELINE BRISCOE

History will be written, spoken, sung and celebrated at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on Thursday 8 December as Gaba Musik, ALWAYS LIVE and Arts Centre Melbourne present BLAKTIVISM.

Words by Tammy Walters

Credit John Elliot

BLAKTIVISM, as premiered in 2021, is responsive to the Black Lives Matter Movement that erupted in the United States in 2020 and sparked global attention and action, offering the indigenous Australian perspective on colonialism, racism and representation through a unique lens and presentation style. The conversation and conception of BLAKTIVISM are deep-rooted in our history, surfacing before the global movement. “I started thinking about this in 2018 when I was living back in Cairns,” explains BLAKTIVISM artistic director and renowned musician Deline Briscoe.

“The concept was there and I was thinking about things that started opening up in the industry and generations of artists coming through. There was a whole new generation of music, artists and workers and that filtering across industries. Then I saw research come up and thought ‘Hold on, you’re not the first Blak doctor, you’re not the first person of colour to do that.’ That just comes out of ignorance, maybe not necessarily from the artist or person but maybe from their manager or representation or someone else making that claim. “So I thought, ‘Right, I really want to acknowledge the ones that have been doing it for a long time and are still here and they have a song and story and to create a space, not just on stage, but off the stage to acknowledge these people. That’s the core of BLAKTIVISM. It’s still a cultural practice in this new political landscape that we have. To transfer the knowledge and acknowledgement of our elders is a cultural practice so it’s just continuing that and somewhere there was a disconnect from that. I wanted to create a space where everyone can be celebrated; the young ones, the mid-career people and the ones that have been doing it for a long time so we can learn from each other. That’s why I thought this was an important show to put on.”

Delivered by First Nations curators, artists, activists and performers, BLAKTIVISM provides a space for gathering of Mob to share stories, educate and celebrate our unique history and identity through music.

Under Briscoe’s artistic direction, living legends and emerging artists Yothu Yindi, Lou Bennett, Emma Donovan, Fred Leone, Kee’ahn, Sprigga Mek, Tasman Keith, Sorong Samarai, and Bart Willoughby will unite on stage to deliver a one-off concert of First Nations activism, as led by Musical Director Airileke and the BLAKTIVISM house band. Yothu Yindi are pivotal in representing First Nations music since their 1986 merger. The ARIA Hall Of Fame music group are responsible for placing indigenous Australian music on the map whilst bringing attention to issues facing indigenous communities through anthems Tribal Voice, Djapana and Treaty. They are seated well within the BLAKTIVISM framework but activism was not the primary intention of the group. “Activism can be based on our cultural resilience,” explains Yothu Yindi vocalist Jodie Cockatoo Creed. “I believe that was never the ambition, it was simply to make people aware of our cultural beliefs and spirituality to the forefront, to acknowledge and to recognise our people/mob in our country. By doing music is the perfect expression.”

“It’s about education,” explains Briscoe. “No one knows about our history because it’s not in the books. It’s also about bringing Blak artists together on stage – three generations of one family together. That’s one thing that is very special and beautiful about BLAKTIVISM, and shows like this, is that we all come together and celebrate our brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts.

“It’s about educating our young ones first, our mob, and then allowing people to see that from the audience’s perspective so they can see that and understand. When we are talking about sovereignty and activism in the current political climate, there are a lot of different views out there and in BLAKTIVISM we cover all of them so it’s not just one agenda.”

The one-night concert holds space for artists to feel empowered and encouraged to tell their individual Blak history through song and collaboration across a variety of genres, disciplines and discourse. “BLAKTIVISM is about Blak beauty, it’s about silences, it’s the Blak voices. It’s about feeling beautiful, using our voices and singing our story and feeling empowered and empowering each other to reach that place. The show is so dynamic because that’s who we are as people and that’s how we get our message across to reach a whole diverse range of people. We have really beautiful moments that are quite subtle and intimate, to the big hip hop hits, and anthems by Uncle Bart Willoughby, all honoured on the same stage,” says Briscoe. The event further welcomes community through acknowledging the land on which they are presenting, with Mundanai, five Kulin Nation Songwomen, Mandy Nicholson (Wurundjeri), Renee Sweetman (Boonwurrung), Corrina Eccles (Wadawurrung), Isobel Paipadjerook (Taungarung) and Aunty Dr. Lou Bennett (Dja Dja Wurrung) opening the special event by leading a healing ceremony.

“It’s very special this time around because each show is slightly different. We want to support artists and enrich them and their voices but the most beautiful part of that concept that has developed for this show at Hamer Hall is that we are bringing five songlines from the Kulin nation from each tribe group to open each show with their healing song.”

Additionally, the event will also see newly added cultural activist Gurridyula join the event whilst visual displays are contributed by Jody Haines. It all culminates in a powerful performance by prolific First Nations band, Yothu Yindi.

“ALWAYS LIVE are responsible for bringing Yothu Yindi to the event and we really thank them for their ongoing support of our project. We are very lucky that Yothu Yindi are joining us again for these shows,” Briscoe says.

Yothu Yindi artists will be performing songs from their impressive six-album multi-award boasting catalogue. Their position in BLAKTIVISM continues their three-decade representation and treaty mission.

“[BLAKTIVISM] is a multicultural representation of how Australia has evolved as a nation. To extend the importance of why and how we are a multicultural nation and how we have to accept all cultures regardless, because when you look we, indigenous, have so many similarities, and acknowledgement should be another, and embracing everyone of same equality for value of life for all people and all culture as one by implementing traditional and contemporary which reflects of two different worlds,” says Creed.

“It’s so relevant to today’s society. I think it’s a kind reminder of who we are and where we came from and we all need to listen to our tribal voices and maybe one day we will have a Treaty.” Elevating the powerful one BLAKTIVISM show and headline performance, Creed teases that the band will further bring unity to the stage with strong female representation: “A great Yothu Yindi show, like always, I’d like to think, may have some special beautiful sisters join us – never know some women power. Yothu Yindi are grateful and thankful to still be able to bring love and song back to all of the community. Big love everyone.”

BLAKTIVISM will be happening 8 December 2022, tickets are available at Arts Centre Melbourne’s website. This article was made in partnership with Arts Centre Melbourne.

MIDSUMMA FESTIVAL 2023

Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival announces 2023 line-up and new signature program.

Words by Fred Carlyle

With a spectacular variety of festivities and events including live music, visual art exhibitions, superb performances, social events, theatre, open panels and more, Melbourne’s revered LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural festival, Midsumma, is returning to 2023, kicking off the new year with an explosion of over 200 events, in 120 venues, running between January 21 and February 12. 2023 will see the return of Midsumma’s major outdoor events such as the iconic Midsumma Carnival – Kicking off the three-week festival in its usual stunning fashion at Melbourne CBD’s Alexandra Gardens (Jan 22) and the cherished Midsumma Pride March where over 7400 marchers will be taking to the streets in St Kilda and Catani Gardens (Feb 5). Made up of 17 events and representing an increasing number of commissioned works that highlight the depth of talent and the immediacy of queer stories, The Midsumma Presents program will also be returning to 2023 with a variety of fan-favourite events including the treasured Midsumma Extravaganza which will enter its fifth year in style with Australia’s queer comedy royalty Joel Creasey and RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under favourite Kween Kong hosting the Sydney Myer Music Bowl stage in style (Jan 21). The fan favourite event Homphonic! will also be returning to the Midsumma Presents Program for its 13th year of fabulous new classical chamber that will be bringing the disco ball to the concert hall at Tempo Rubato by celebrating homosexual harmonies, Sapphic symphonists, and the sound world of today’s queer composers (Jan 27 & 28). A new addition for Midsumma Festival 2023 is the new curated signature program, A Safe(R) Space; Consisting of 21 works from a range of artists across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, this new signature program will be delving into the topic of what defines a safe space for artists and communities.

“It’s been a joy and a journey for all of us to work with the artists, venues, and producers from the A Safe(R) Space program and to explore the provocation of safer spaces and what this means to people from our LGBTQIA+ communities,” says Midsumma’s program manager, Brendan Cooney. “We look forward to watching this wide range of events explore the concept of “safer spaces’’ and illuminate how it can be vastly different for individual members of our diverse communities.” There’s something for everyone within the A Safe(R) Space as the program delivers a multitude of events such as the Big Thick Energy festival located at Malthouse Outdoor Stage which will be promoting body positivity and liberation through movement, creativity and high energy entertainment curated by performance artist Demon Derriere (Feb 10 & 11). Other unmissable highlights include the visual narratives of gender diverse and non-binary identifying artists; Kin Francis, Caleb Thaiday, Luce NguyenHunt, Ari Tampubolon and Indra Liusuari at the The Body Is More Than This exhibition at the Immigration Museum (Jan 26 – Feb 12) and the compelling one-man show Transmansplaining by self-described “Short balding, bearded, gay trans man”, Ben MacEllen (Jan 25 &). Also included in the A Safe(R) Space program is Stranger Than Usual, a unique, awe-inspiring musical performance designed for Deaf people that uncovers Australian artist Asphyxia’s personal experience of being Deaf, queer, chronically ill and needing to use a wheelchair (Feb 2-4). “We are invited to declare our access needs and feel secure that every practical effort will be made to include us, and it won’t be as an afterthought,” Asphyxia explains. “It’s not expected that we fit into binary gender norms nor that we are heterosexual - it is assumed that we could be any of multiple sexualities. Experiences of marginalisation and oppression are well understood so they don’t need to be explained but can be shared and commiserated. We don’t need to educate people about our disabilities, gender or sexuality. We don’t get mansplained, especially about our disabilities, sexuality, gender and experiences of marginalisation (and naturally Stranger Than Usual will be a Safe(R) Space).”

The Melbourne Midsumma 2023 Festival will be running between January 21 and February 12 across metro Melbourne and regional Victoria. Head to midsumma.org.au for the full program. This article was made in partnership with Midsumma.

I’m sitting with Bailer in his Prahran gallery, Let’s Pretend, soaking in a tale of one of his many escapades. I should butt out of his cold open – perhaps we’ll rewind a little and let him paint some context.

“I was in Prague with my mate Rumba. Rest in peace, he was an international graffiti king. He was, sadly, I don’t think he’s around any longer. He was a unique character. I visited him in Leipzig, he just threw me the keys to his Audi and let me drive and, you know, they had a few graf shops in town. They were probably getting up to no good and laundering their money or whatever. They had their own DVDs, their own clothes, their own paint in these multiple shops, (whereas) if somebody in Melbourne goes, ‘I’m going to open a graf shop’ more than likely five years later they’re still talking about it, you know what I mean? And we’re there and he’s like, ‘We’re gonna open another guard has a dog. One guard has a fucking gun’.” This is embellished with Bailer’s best European accent.

“So I’m like, ‘Alright. I guess we’ll paint quickly then’. We run in, and it’s mixed, a hodgepodge crew, a couple of Polish guys, a Russian guy, a Spanish guy, a German guy. And Rumba he can speak a little bit of each language. So on the way there, he’s practising his Russian, trying to learn a bit more of each language

like, “Oh, shit”, and they’re surrounding us and shouting at us in Czech, or whatever they speak in Prague, you’d have to ask Rumba only he can’t tell you now – but he would have known what they were saying. I just knew they were mad. And we all went back to back and I’m shouting, and because there was like six of us and four of them they didn’t rush us – they kept a few metres back and flicked out extendable batons. Then when they came at us we all rushed at WALL STORIES one guy so he stepped back and we made a gap and went through it, ran through that door, jumped a fence and “We get to this spot, we jump a fence, we snip a then just hit the legs and we’re running running running fence, we boot a door open and we rush in there painting away. We’re doing this spot and, you running. We got away, nearly having a spew, not quite but nearly spewing you know? know, we get 10 or 15 minutes, we’ve painted (And) Rumba is like ‘Okay, I guess we go to za other yard’. like six people in a row on the side of this train. “Like ‘Fucking hell bro, And then we just hear this shouting….” can’t we go have a beer or chill or something?’ So we went to some other trainyard Words by Andy Brewer and we’re watching the guard

shop’, and I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, cool’. And then the next day, we’re helping him put up shelves and shit in a new shop that they’ve opened when they’ve already got multiple. So these guys are doers. They’re not shit talkers.”

“So him and his mates like Acid and Evil and Moner, these dudes they go hard, they’re real good painters. We went on a few trips, we went and painted in Berlin, we painted a few different places and we went to Prague one time. We went to this big hanger, and they’re like, ‘Okay, Aussie guy, there’s gonna be some guards. One so that when he goes and paints the systems in these countries, he’s able to communicate better. Anyways, we get to this spot, we jump a fence, we snip a fence, we boot a door open and we rush in there painting away. We’re doing this spot and, you know, we get 10 or 15 minutes, we’ve painted like six people in a row on the side of this train.”

We’re full circle now… “And then we hear this shouting and there’s like, four dudes, and one or two German shepherds. I can’t remember as it was pretty hectic at the time but it was doing laps then jimmied open a window and painted again. They’re like that, extreme dudes.”

Bailer is telling me all this because he has spent a decade compiling a book of photos and epic stories of the Melbourne graffiti scene, and I knew we had to get a tale that didn’t feature in his deluxe hardcover tome Wall Stories. For more, you’ll have to read the book.

Wall Stories is out now. Visit Let’s Pretend Gallery at 204 Commercial Road, Prahran.