Big hART brings crowds together for Eden event in the Bulla Midhong project

The on-country Bulla Midhong event was performed by various Indigenous students from the Eden Marine Highschool, with the help of cultural mentors, talented local artists and the Big hART team.

Community producers of the event, Ashweeni Mason and Kyle Wilson said despite the hectic turnaround to delivering it a day earlier due to bad weather, the result had been nothing short of "amazing".

"We were all so humbled by the turnout on the night, there must have been a couple hundred people, which goes to show how much the community supports events like these," Kyle Wilson said.

Kyle said the event took audiences on an almost "ethereal journey, through stories told by songs, dances and digital projections".

The multi-arts event showcased a contemporary take on the traditional story of the humpback whale's migration north all the while making the audiences rediscover the traditional place names of Twofold Bay.

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Upon arrival guests were invited to follow the Bundian Way story trail which was lit up for the occasion.

"We attempted to make an underwater experience as audiences walked through the story trail, so we had soundtracks playing which the kids produced themselves," Kyle said.

"We also had projections in the trees of water animations that the kids did themselves, so everywhere you looked and listened you'd see the creations of these amazing students."

Once the people reached the intersection of the Bundian Way Story Trail, they were met by Ashweeni and Jorja Muscat who gave out native leaves for each person to keep and to hold.

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Then as the guests turned left they were greeted by two young men who stood either side of the path in front of fire pits, which were billowing out medicine smoke.

"It was absolutely beautiful, these young men held space behind the fire pits and as people walked on, they came across Nathan Lygon who was singing and welcoming them in," he said.

Kyle said the waves of people coming in seemed to be endless and it made him feel proud of his local community.

Once everyone was settled into the sand and the music had died down, Ashweeni stood up to introduce the Bulla Midhong project.

Ashweeni explained the show hosted by the students was a culmination of all the music, dances and projections they had created in workshops over the last year.

Next to stand up was Uncle BJ Cruse who delivered a beautiful welcome to country speech, that encouraged everyone to give thanks to the mother land and all she has to offer.

Closely following the Welcome to Country came a powerful performance from Nathan, who began to slowly walk into the centre of the Bunaan Ring using the clapping sticks as the medicine smoke filled the air.

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"The smoke was billowing and the place looked so beautiful, then at the back of the Bunaan Ring you could see the kids lined up, dressed in their amazing outfits, their faces painted with ochre," Kyle said.

"They began to call loudly 'Giiyong, Giiyong' and then bang they went into a welcome dance, while Nathan sang and Ashweeni played the clapping sticks, it was just beautiful."

Afterwards Nathan gave a dynamic speech about the importance of medicine smoke and also taught the crowd some language.

The next part of the show saw the kids step up to engage with their audience, as they brought up on the projector, an old parish map that bore the traditional place names.

Prior to the show the students had spent a lot of time animating them so they could present it to the public in a call and response activity at the event, that helped educate the audience on the traditional names of places in Twofold Bay.

Next came the whale dance where the kids came together as one, to 'become the whale', while Nathan sang and Ashweeni began to play the clapping sticks.

Kyle said the event on the whole "was just such a gorgeous way to educate the community and celebrate culture".

Twofold Aboriginal Corporation manager of cultural inclusion, Alison Simpson said events like Bulla Midhong at Twofold Bay really helped bring people together.

"I think events like these are extremely powerful because they bring Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people together, to celebrate local culture and language," she said.

Alison said she hoped to see more events like Bulla Midhong, especially after seeing the valuable impact it had on the local community.

"It allows the opportunity for everybody to embrace Indigenous culture, teaching people the first language place names and the history of places like Cocora Beach," she said.

Alison said her highlight of the evening, as a spectator, was to see the youth's participation throughout the event.

"You could tell they were a bit nervous beforehand but watching it unfold, particularly the passing over of the coals, there was a really emotional and spiritual element to it," she said.

"It was really special to see these young people being able to stand proud in their culture, song and language."

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The cultural Bulla Midhong event hosted in Eden was part of a three part series of on-country events brought about by Big hART, in a bid to encourage youth to explore and showcase their traditional stories in a digital and interactive manner way that was original.

The next two Bulla Midhong events will be hosted at Wallaga Lake on May 13 and Nowra on May 20.

The Wallaga Lake event will be hosted at the Umbarra Cultural Centre which sits at the footsteps of the sacred Gulaga mother mountain, the home of the black duck Yuin Djiringang people.

The family free event will begin at 6pm, and immerse audiences in a night of music, song, dance and art created from young Djiringang people and the community of Wallaga Lake. There will also be a BBQ afterwards.

The Nowra event invites people to join at Paringa Park at 6pm, to celebrate the birth place of the Black Cockatoo, whose story will be re-tod in language, song, digital art and traditional dance.

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