Community Arts Network

20/08/2026

We’re thrilled to announce that the seminal Elders storytelling exhibition ‘Legacies Kalgoorlie/Karlkurla: Stories from Silky Pear Country’ is making its way from the Goldfields to Boorloo/Perth this September!

Grounded in truth, resilience, respect and triumph, ‘Legacies Kalgoorlie/Karlkurla’ celebrates the life stories of ten respected Aboriginal Elders from the Goldfields region, through portraits by internationally acclaimed photographer Michael Jalaru Torres and podcast conversations hosted by Spinifex Anangu broadcaster Debbie Carmody.

‘Legacies Karlkurla (Kalgoorlie): Stories From Silky Pear Country’
When: 17 – 21 October 2026 (NB closing date has been updated since our eNews went out!)
Where: John Curtin Gallery, Building 200A, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, Western Australia 6102.
Opening times: Monday to Friday 10am - 5pm; Sunday 12pm - 4pm
Entry: FREE

Read more: https://www.can.org.au/news/experience-stories-from-silky-pear-country-in-boorloo

Photo: Janice Scott // credit Michael Jalaru Torres

Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport
Creative Australia
Community Broadcasting Foundation
Tjuma Pulka 96.3 FM
John Curtin Gallery

Legacies Karlkurla/Kalgoorlie is heading to John Curtin Gallery, so that Boorloo/Perth audiences can experience this seminal First Nations-led multi-media storytelling exhibition.

19/08/2026

Djilba is a season of growth and transition so it feels fitting that our August eNews’ headline is the appointment of our new Chair Zali Morgan.

It is with deepest sadness and fondest memories that we honour Aunty Winnie McHenry, Noongar Elder and matriarch, and the inspiration behind CAN's Unfinished Business project.

In this issue you’ll also read about the creative dividends being paid in the second iteration of High VisAbility, two upcoming exhibitions that will immerse you in First Nations stories, the new Noongar song and book that’s being created during Noongar Nursery Rhymes… and more!

Read all about it in the Djilba/August edition of the CAN eNews, out now.
https://email.can.org.au/t/t-e-ydlliijy-l-yh/

18/08/2026

We are so proud to announce that CAN has been appointed by the WA Government to be part of the Bicentenary Planning Advisory Group (BPAG), along with Reconciliation WA and Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company.

Our role, alongside Reconciliation WA and Yirra Yaakin, is to consult communities across WA to find out how they want to see the Bicentenary marked. This feedback will be used to guide the development of a shared vision for the year-long commemoration of the Bicentenary, one that is shaped by the diversity of WA’s communities, and builds social cohesion and inclusion.

Read more about this exciting project on the CAN website: https://www.can.org.au/community/bicentenary-planning-advisory-group/was-2029-bicentenary

WA Government
Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company
Reconciliation WA

Appointed by the WA Government, CAN is proud to be part of the Bicentenary Planning Advisory Group, alongside Reconciliation WA and Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company.

13/08/2026

Congratulations to CAN Chair Zali Morgan, who has been selected as the West Australian representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale Delegates Program.

Zali joins seven other early-mid career visual arts practitioners – from each state or territory – to take part in this Creative Australia initiative, which is designed to give delegates opportunities to exchange ideas, develop networks and seed future collaborations at this seminal international event.

We are so proud of Zali and can’t wait to hear about her adventures in Venice!

Pictured: CAN Chair Zali Morgan. Credit: Nic Duncan

11/08/2026

Did you know that Goolugatup is a Noongar word meaning ‘place of children’ / ‘children’s place of knowledge’ / ‘children’s learning place’?

Goolugatup is one of the ancient Noongar placenames found in the City of Melville that was decoded by Noongar Elders and community members guided by Moodjar’s Professor Len Collard, during the first phase of the Place Names Melville project in 2022.

The first poster pictured is a digital collage of individual community members’ responses to Goolugatup, created during the Place Names Melville project. You can pick up a copy for FREE from the CAN office or we can post them to you for a small fee. We have five posters available based on responses to Goolugatup and Jenalup (Blackwall Reach).

Order your posters here >> 🔗 https://www.can.org.au/shop

City of Melville
Moodjar
Lotterywest

06/08/2026

Winnie May McHenry (nee Winmar)
1935 - 2026

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we prepare to say goodbye to the Noongar matriarch who inspired and drove many of CAN's most successful community arts projects.

One of the last babies born on Country at Badjaling Mission, Aunty Winnie was the force behind our long-running Bush Babies program.

When her late husband passed, Aunty Winnie returned to Badjaling, which is 10 km north of the wheatbelt town of Quairading, and she fought long and hard to revive the community. She stayed there until just after her 90th birthday.

One day at her beloved Badjaling, she pitched a cultural revival project to CAN, to celebrate Noongar matriarchy.

The concept was so strong that it received funding from Creative Australia and Lotterywest.

It then became all of our “Unfinished Business”.

Aunty Winnie wanted to help Noongar women reclaim their birthrights by learning how to make significant matriarchal items, including kangaroo skin cloaks (bookas) and digging sticks (wannas). These items are so important to women that they would be buried with them.

Co-lead artists Sharyn Egan and Yabini Kickett made a booka especially for Aunty Winnie. It was stitched with love and admiration and given to her family on the day of her passing.

May she rest in peace.

The Queen of Badjaling.

https://www.can.org.au/news/farewell-to-the-queen-of-badjaling

Photo 1: Aunty Winnie McHenry wearing a booka. Credit: Curtis Taylor
Photo 2: Aunty Winnie and CAN Executive Producer Michelle White at the opening of 'Bush Babies: Honouring our Elders' at the WA Museum (2014)
Photo 3: Auntie Winnie McHenry on Country at Badjaling during the Bush Babies project (2010)
Photo 4: Aunty Winnie McHenry at home
Photo 5: Aunty Winnie McHenry at a CAN launch event (2015)
Photo 6: Aunty Winnie at a launch event for CAN's Voices of the Wheatbelt project (2010)
Photo 7: Aunty Winnie speaking at the opening of the 'Born on Country' exhibition at Midland Junction Arts Centre' (2016)

05/08/2026

Thank you so much to RTR FM’s Bec Bowman for featuring our Mapping Leschenault project on Artbeat! Bec chatted to Producer Pip Kelly and Creative and Cultural Advisor Dellas Bennell about the story behind the Wardandi Noongar mapping project, why it’s particularly close to Dellas’s heart and the beautiful artworks and audio recordings that are being made about the Wardandi people’s connection to their Country.

If you didn’t hear the show you can catch it here: https://rtrfm.com.au/story/mapping-leschenault-project/

And read more about Mapping Leschenault here: https://www.can.org.au/community/cultural-mapping/mapping-leschenault

Pictured: Dellas Bennell and Geri Hayden looking through maps of Leschenault Estuary during a site visit.
Credit: Hugh Sando

AusGov Office for the Arts
Lotterywest
Leschenault Catchment Council
Gnaala Karla Booja Aboriginal Corporation
RTRFM 92.1

31/07/2026

30/07/2026

“How do you restore the voices and presence of people left out of unreliable memoirs? State Library curator and Partnerships Officer Denien Toomath, a Menang Noongar woman, has fashioned imaginative and lateral-thinking ways of filling in the blank pages.”

Victoria Laurie reviewing ‘Kinjarling Djinnaang Ngaluk | Our Country Sees Us’

Check out this thoughtful review of the ‘Kinjarling Djinnaang Ngaluk | Our Country Sees Us’ exhibition at the State Library of WA (SLWA). We’re so proud to be partnering with SLWA on this immersive exhibition, curated by Denien Toomath to honour the stories of Menang Noongar Elders and the culture of Menang Country.

Read the full review: https://www.seesawmag.com.au/2026/07/review-country-reclaims-the-archive

Seesaw Magazine
State Library of Western Australia
The National Trust of Western Australia

Menang voices reframe Albany’s bicentenary in Kinjarling Djinnang Ngalak, a powerful State Library exhibition about Country and memory.

28/07/2026

It’s been such a joy to return to Sir David Brand School for High VisAbility 2.0!

Driven by the vibrant aesthetic of Artist Facilitator Jane Ryan, the fluoro vibe has continued to shine in this second iteration of High Vis. The result is a proliferation of artworks that shimmer with colour and bravery.

Based on the idea that you can’t be what you can’t see, High VisAbility sees students with disabilities collaborate with professional artists with disabilities to create high quality contemporary artworks, illuminating pathways into the arts for those students.

Step inside the world of High Vis 2.0 in the latest blog post: https://www.can.org.au/news/long-term-collaboration-pays-creative-dividends

Pictured, from left: Artist Facilitators Rachel Haines and Jane Ryan, and Supporting Artist Kate Leslie. Front: Project Producer Tegan Jenkins.

Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport