This Land presented by Festival X

This event was held on Sunday 17 November 2019

This Land performance presented by Festival X

This Land is a celebration of the sound, soul and spirit of this Country.

Following the premiere performance of This Land in 2018, this year's project is sure to be a highlight of the Festival X program and will feature layers of performance from some of Australia's best Indigenous and non-Indigenous performers.

This Land will feature:

  • a special performance of Goori Dooki
  • the Yanaya Project, with the premiere of ‘Dancing with the Wind’ by David Leha & Philip Matthias
  • performances by Ray Kelly Jnr, Jacob Ridgeway, Kat Waria, Echology and more

This performance explores relevant issues of identity, revitalisation of language, culture, and history, and the threads that bind us together as dwellers in This Land.

Tickets available HERE. This event is for the whole family and is suitable for all ages.

About Goori Dooki

Goori Dooki, co-directed by Ray Kelly Snr and Brian Joyce, tells the story of ‘Pops’ and his grandson who come to rediscover lost memories, songs and language with help from a special bird. Goori Dooki is a performance for young and old that re-imagines Aboriginal language and culture in a contemporary storytelling performance about memory and identity. This performance incorporates a range of Aboriginal songs in language from across the eastern seaboard of NSW, dance and animations.

Performers include:

  • Ray Kelly Snr as ‘Pops'
  • Jesse Hodgetts as the Gurri Thurr-igi bird
  • Kaiyu Maynard as the grandson

The Yanaya Project

The Yanaya Project is a series of songs written by David Leha. Yanaya means to ‘return’, to self, to country, to culture. It embraces issues of cultural understandings, conciliation and diaspora, identity and belonging. It is a contemporary Indigenous collaborative project, designed to be a cross-cultural exchange, which intersects between First Nations peoples and contemporary Australian society.

FESTIVAL X

This performance makes up part of FESTIVAL X being proudly presented by the School Of Creative Industries 13-17 November, across the University’s vibrant city campus and beyond. Now in its second year, Festival X is a culmination of student’s work in the areas of design, animation, communication, theatre, music and film. Held over five days and featuring more than twenty unique events, the students will be making their mark in performances, exhibitions and screenings, celebrating their achievements and showcasing years of dedication to their craft.