Maliyan Cultural Centre

The Maliyan Cultural Centre in Wellington NSW is dedicated to showcasing, exploring and elevating the rich cultural history of the Aboriginal people of our region. We focus on community, culture, conversations and continuity in telling our stories and the stories of those who have been here before us. We understand the intercultural nature of our people and the complex relationships they have with each other and the land.

Community

We value, reflect and energize the community we serve

Culture

We know that culture lies at the heart of the individual

Conversations

We believe that conversations are the building blocks of the future

Continuity

This is our land and always has been

WORKSHOP + EXHIBITION PROGRAM UNDERWAY

First Families Family History Workshops - STORYTELLING WORKSHOP IN NOV

First Families is a community development and exhibition project, with the community development stage undertaken through workshops with the resources and tools for you to be able to learn how to search for your family history. We're partnering with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and the Wellington Museum to guide the process.

12- 13 November 2024, Maliyan Cultural Centre, 10am - 1.30pm

A First Families project First Nations storytelling workshop is being held at the Maliyan Cultural Centre. You'll have access to everything you need on the day to help tell your story—scanner, printer, computer, family research websites and the information to plan and tell your story. So join us. If you have questions about the day, email Emah.

A graphic for the workshop on 12-13 November that says what is in the text above.

5 June 2024, Maliyan Cultural Centre

Participants in this workshop learned more about Dubbo Regional Council’s Local History Collection resources with DRC Local History Research Officer, Simone Taylor. Simone also gave an overview of public resources, such as Trove and the NSW State Library Archives. Wellington Museum's researchers spoke about what they have in their collection, how they research, and what they have available to the local community. This workshop was open to anyone in the community interested in researching family history.

9 April 2024, AIATIS workshop for Wellington’s Wiradjuri families

The first of our family history research workshops was with AIATSIS to learn more about what family history resources AIATIS has, and how to search their collections and database. Michael Bennett from The Native Title Service Corporation (NTS CORP) gave a brief presentation on family history and what resources are available out there.

"The workshop was a great day for all of the community who attended. We had lots of great talks about family history and family tree. The AIATSIS team couldn't have been more delightful to have on board." - Emah Guihot

Left to right in front of the AIATSIS banner are Michael Bennet, Emah Guihot, Tara Stanley, Anita Johnson, Sarah Kennedy (AIATSIS Team), and Vince Biego (AIATSIS Team); In front of the Orana Arts banner is Simone Taylor (Dubbo Regional Council), Emah Guihot (Orana Arts) and Beth Hattenfels (Wellington Museum).

This project is a partnership between Wellington Local Aboriginal Land Council, Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Service, and Orana Arts, funded by the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund.

First Families exhibition OPENING 2 NOVEMBER

EXHIBITION OPENING: Saturday, 2 November, 1pm at the Maliyan Cultural Centre

12 regionally-based artists have been commissioned to work with the concept of the Family Tree for an exhibition as part of the First Families project. The exhibition includes works by First Nations creatives and the wider community, with each artist producing a work based on the idea of family history or the family tree.

First Families is about highlighting the significance of family history and how important it is to culture, identity and sense of self, while promoting cross-cultural connections and building a progressive and resilient community.

RSVP: Emah Guihot, Community Curator via email

If you’re having problems getting to Emah’s email via the email link above—some email service providers (ESP) are problematic at the moment, the email to put into your email is curator at oranaarts dot com. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Ngiyangarra (Look Up) to soon become Birrangirra (Fly)

A collection of Ngiyangarra catalogues being held in a hand.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE NGIYANGARRA CATALOGUE

STAGE 1 DOCUMENTED & STAGE 2 TO COME

Ngiyangarra has been designed as a creative development program for emerging regionally-based artists to expand their creative vision and broaden contacts within the sector by workshopping with leading Wiradjuri artists in digital media (Josh Yasserie), creative writing (Jeanine Leane), dance and performance (Jo Clancy). It is also part of a wider program of building the capacity of the Maliyan Cultural Centre as an arts and Wiradjuri cultural space for the local community of Wellington NSW, and the wider region.

The program was focused on connecting with community; different creative practices, and learning about creative processes and possibilities; exploring how culture and lived experiences inform the creative process, and; developing artworks for exhibition.

On Friday 20 September, we wrapped up Stage 1 of the Ngiyangarra project at the Maliyan Cultural Centre in Wellington. Wiradjuri artist, Josh Yasserie returned to Wellington to celebrate what had been achieved in Stage 1 and to talk with the participating artists about how we might shape the next stage of the project going into 2025. Copies of the catalogue documenting Stage 1 were made available and we spoke at length with local artists and members of the local community about how to engage more from Wellington in the program, in particular young or emerging artists. Stage 2 (Birrangirra) will build on what we started with Stage 1, with Josh Yasserie as lead artist and curator.

Josh Yasserie with participants from Stage 1 of Ngiyangarra, at the Maliyan Cultural Centre

Ngiyangarra (Look Up) was funded by the NSW Government through the Stronger Country Communities Fund as part of the creative programming developed by Orana Arts for the Maliyan Cultural Centre, in partnership with the Wellington Local Aboriginal Land Council.

NOW CLOSED

Murrayalalinya
Jason Wing + Maddie Gibbs

Murrayalalinya (Raising Voice) was an installation and public program by artists Jason Wing and Maddison Gibbs at the Maliyan Cultural Centre in Wellington.

Working with the community and taking inspiration from the voices that have guided them, Jason and Maddie invited the community and audience to build a voice composed of countless individuals, each contributing to a complex, multi-faceted, multi-lingual chalk tapestry on the walls of the exhibition space.

PHOTOS FROM THE OPENING ON THE MALIYAN CULTURAL CENTRE PROJECT PAGE

BUY A MURRAYALALINYA T-SHIRT IN THE SHOP

This was a partnership with the Wellington Local Aboriginal Land Council, funded by the Australian Government’s Indigenous Languages and Arts (ILA) program, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to express, preserve and maintain their cultures through languages and arts activities around Australia.