WHAT IS WALANTANALINANY PALINGINA?
Walantanalinany Palingina or WaPa for short, is a Tasmanian Aboriginal community multi arts initiative, motivated by conversations and dreams that have existed in our community for many many years. In 2016 a group of Aboriginal community members with the support of Contemporary Art Tasmania (CAT), sat around the table in conversation. What emerged was a clear desire to form a program that included:
A multi-arts outcome
Partnerships
Mentoring & development opportunities
Engagement of young & emergent practitioners
Established artists working with young and emergent practitioners, embracing intergenerational transference of knowledge
Events showcasing traditional to contemporary art forms
Being challenging, provocative & brave
A shared commitment and excitement at putting contemporary Aboriginal arts practice at the foreground of Tasmanian arts practice was ignited.
The ‘We’re Here! A Tasmanian Aboriginal Multi-Arts Program’ was birthed, under the banner of Walantanalinany Palingina. The program focused on development and capacity building projects that nurtured us toward longer term visions of a Tasmanian Aboriginal Multi-Arts Organisation, and a Festival of First Nations that would be led and facilitated by Walantanalinany Palingina and the broader community.
Walantanalinany Palingina is an old language word gifted by Uncle Jim puralia meenamatta Everett translating to ‘country all round, welcome’.
WHAT GUIDES WALANTANALINANY PALINGINA?
Walantanalinany Palingina is led by our collective vision, mission statement, values and approach to the work we undertake within community. We’ve provided a snapshot of this information below to allow you to better understand what guides WaPa.
Our Vision
To be a recognised Tasmanian Aboriginal community designed, driven, owned & operated arts & cultural entity, that leads in creating an innovative and culturally relevant ecology for First Nations creatives living and working here.
Our Mission
To enliven, invigorate and celebrate cultural expression and identity through creative arts practices. We aim to engage in a cultural process that brings cultural ways of knowing and being into a program that delivers empowerment to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community, artists and creatives.
Our Values
We value… Activation, empowerment, growth, sustainability, transparency, accountability and self-determination. Our core responsibility is to promote, support, give back to and lift up our Tasmanian Aboriginal artists and cultural practitioners.
OUR APPROACH
We are storytellers, we are storymakers, we are dancers, designers and artists. For thousands of years, creative practice has been at the core of our culture and beingness. We support our people to return to and celebrate our creative & cultural selves.
With great care and compassion, we move with an openness to innovation, to change, and to finding new ways that will hold our people as we need in our way forward.
Our approach is rooted in a deep core intention to create systems of support, healing and empowerment to thrive.
Our Work
Nurturing Futures
A professional & artistic development program facilitating mentorships & internships.
Our Place
An innovative cultural arts space for Tasmanian Aboriginal artists and cultural practitioners.
We Share
A pathway of events toward a major international First Nations festival showcasing Tasmanian Aboriginal cultural expression.
Our Voice
Facilitation of advocacy, cultural consultancy and design within Tasmania.
WHAT DOES WALANTANALINANY PALINGINA ASPIRE TO?
All in all, through in-depth dialogue & reflection, we aspire to support the development of Tasmanian Aboriginal artists, cultural practitioners and the creation of new work that is compelling, relevant, insightful, constructive, intergenerational, experimental, serious, fun, disruptive, accessible, multifaceted, challenging, exploring and shifting boundaries, provocative, empowering, connective & change making. We want the work to be seen from multiple viewpoints, as testing ideas, acknowledging diversity and building the capacity of our community.