Roots of Identity

From the Woiwurrung Language of the Kulin Nation, Narrun Yana translates as Spirit Journey. We feel this is fitting for our Collective because it reflects our journey from out of home care and high school into adulthood. It also reflects our journey as artists and contributors to our community. 

Roots of Identity is our second exhibition as a Collective. It reflects our personal journey’s and experiences, and represents what community and home means to each of us examining the roots of who we are as artists and First Nations people.

Narrun Yana is a safe space where we create work in a culturally safe environment that supports us to become economically independent as well as well as providing professional development opportunities within the arts and cultural sector. 

Our goals for the future are to create opportunities for each other and other young blackfullas, and to be recognised as artists.  We hope to create a successful independent black arts business for youth. We invite you to join us on our journey.

 The collective artists:

Teaka Williams is a Gunditjmara woman born and raised in Naarm. Teaka works in photography, both digital and film, interior design and mixed media art.  She has spent a lot of her life struggling with identity and feeling a place of belonging but has started her journey in finding what it means to have a place of home.  

Avid video game player, streamer and social media consumer, she is currently undergoing a traineeship in curation and wishes to be able to create spaces that provide a sense of comfort, relatability and vulnerability. 

 Rubii Red is a proud 23-year old Lama Lama woman from the Cape York Peninsula, but has grown and lived in Naarm (Melbourne, Victoria) for the majority of her life. Rubii is an aspiring film-maker, gamer and Twitch streamer, a First Nations activist and (mainly) a digital artist, although she does also work with traditional mediums from time to time. A lot of Rubii’s artwork focuses around original characters that represent her culture and community in a fun and vibrant way. She also uses her work to react to big issues and events that have happened nationally or internationally, and to bring awareness to those issues visually. She is heavily inspired by people and the environments around her as well as comic-books, anime shows, science-fiction and fantasy based movies and video games. Her goals for the future are to eventually produce her own comic-book or graphic novel that represents First Nations people and her community. She also wants to continue to give back to her community, as they've helped to build her up into the young woman she is today.

Chelsea McGinty is a proud Gija and Jaru woman from the North East Kimberly’s, It was there from a young age she began to develop her love of art. Which led to her winning small art competitions within Westren Australia one of these was her success with The Sandalwood Factory where her goanna design was selected to be used on numerous products. 

Chelsea now lives in Melbourne to attend University with hopes to one day become an Art Therapist this in turn led her to Interning at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency where she was then able to join Narrun Yana, This is Chelsea’s first time exhibiting her art in a professional sense.

Nakia Cadd is a Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Bunitj woman who grew up in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne. Nakia’s work has strong design elements of line work that connect with her family lines and landscapes of her Countries. Her artwork is also inspired by her motherhood journey, family and country.