Seed, Play and Unite
Niv and the WeArt Collective acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which our learning takes place, the Gadigal and Biddigal peoples of the Eora Nation, and pay respect to Elders, past, present and future. We honour the ancient First Nations knowledge systems that have and continue to shape the land and coastlines with care and reciprocity.
Opening a dialogue from here, SEED, PLAY and UNITE offered itself to Bondi and other neighboring communities as a series of affordable art, ecology and healing workshops.
HOW might WE Heal the Land and All That SHE Holds?
We decided to start local. Seed, Play and Unite addressed the need to cultivate inclusive spaces of care for marginalized youth in the Waverley district of Eora nation, Australia. It also addressed the need to bring marginalized knowledge systems to the centre. Grounded in reciprocity, ecology and togetherness, this vision included a series of workshops that were led by queer, First Nations and CaLD artists/facilitators. This vision was activated by the current social conditions of the land and aimed to restore strong relationships between mentors, youth and Country.
The workshops integrated tools on self care, ecological activism, and resilience through deep listening, art-making, and movement activities. The continuous connection of First Nations people to this land and its oceans provided an integral framework to the workshops.
How do the organizers place themselves within this all?
Niv is an artist with roots in Mangalore, India and branches across the world. She spent formative years in Sydney while she was young, and only returned to Country during the Covid pandemic. During this time, she committed herself to learning the not so public human and more than human histories of Eora nation. She also committed herself to her own ancestral practices.
The WeArt Collective is a group of queer Latinos making efforts to build networks and listening spaces for other young immigrants like them.
Niv and the WeArt found union in their capacity to organize meaningful spaces of dialogue, arts and learning within and for their community.
We curated a small physical zine as part of the Seed, Play and Unite project | stories, poems + illustrations from around the world that revolve around rituals of self-care and collective resilience.
In what ways do you seed intention, disrupt through play and unite with the Self and the land?
Physical zines are now available for free IN EORA NATION at
cement fondu
107 projects, redfern
bitcoffee cafe
waverley woolahra art school
arc@University of new south wales
the weart collective
five ways cafe
This project was the recipient of the Impact Awards 2021
Funded by California College of the Arts' Centre for the Arts and Public Life