Speak Up and share your worries!

Katherine West communities are reminding everyone to speak up and share their worries with bright murals on display in community.

After two years of delays due to COVID-19 and interstate border restrictions, artist Andrew Bourke and his team travelled to Kalkaringi and Daguragu in July to work closely with community members and bring two new murals to life.

It was all hands on deck – with local kids and adults picking up sanders, spray cans and paint brushes to create the colourful pieces. It took five days in Kalkaringi, and a further five days in Daguragu to complete each of the murals.

The murals depict significant historical and cultural journeys of local people and country, including the landmark Wave Hill Walk Off led by Vincent Lingiari in 1966.

The murals have been completed under targeted funding for social and emotional wellbeing awareness, recognising that depression and anxiety have significant effects on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations living in remote and isolated locations.

The #speakupandshareyourworries initiative started with Aboriginal Health Practitioner Deb Jones and young women from Myatt community in the Timber Creek region. A Facebook video highlighted the importance of listening to young people’s voices and sharing worries with family and the clinic mob.

The murals are a reminder that yarning about worries helps keep our spirits strong.

The new murals complete the #speakupandshareyourworries project – connecting the speak up story with murals across the region in Lajamanu, Timber Creek and Yarralin.

See the original video from Myatt community mob here.

If you’re travelling to the Freedom Festival, you can check the murals out at the Daguragu Recreational Centre and near the Kalkaringi Store opposite the Ngaliwany Purrp’ku Child and Family Centre.