Street Art in Melbourne: Aboriginal art (5) for NAIDOC Week 2024

This year NAIDOC Week falls on 7-14 July.  This is a time to celebrate Indigenous culture in Australia.  This year's theme is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’.  Over my years of blogging I have published a few posts on Aboriginal street art (see links at end of post).

This year is a special year to acknowledge the pride and resilience of the Indigenous culture.  Last October the majority of the country voted against an Indigenous advisory Voice to Parliament in a referendum.  Despite the majority saying no, there were many disappointed citizens who have great respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and had put a lot of energy into campaigning.  But most of all it was a terrible moment for Indigenous people, reinforcing a sense of not being valued and increasing the racism that is a part of their lives.  So pride and resilience are important qualities to celebrate this year.  

The street art featuring Aboriginal culture shows its richness and diversity.  The mural in the top photo (Brunswick Place, Fitzroy) is lovely because it expresses the eagle (Bunjil?) protecting and nurturing the culture of Indigenous people.

This native flower is part of the above mural.  I cannot identify it.  Sadly I feel as unsure about indigenous flora as I do about Indigenous people.  I wish I had better knowledge of the culture of the land where I live.  It all looks familiar but it sometimes seems less harder to identify than all our imported culture.

This photo and the one below are 'traditional' Indigenous paintings from the Yarra Youth Centre in Napier Street, Fitzroy.  One thing I do know about Indigenous culture is that European colonisation disrupted the culture, especially in the South East of Australia where I live.  My ancestors have made it difficult to understand what is traditional and what isn't.

As an aside, it was only recently, when I saw a video of my grandmother talking about her grandparents clearing the land for farming, that I had to question what happened to the Aboriginal people who had lived on that land for many generations.  I am not sure there are any answers because this experience is not part of my family's story of their history.

This artwork looks like the clapsticks of Aboriginal music.  It is on Leslie Street on the corner by Victoria Street in Brunswick, near to The JazzLab - Bennetts Lane Jazz Club Brunswick.

This artwork is on the Clothing the Gaps store in Sydney Road Brunswick (north of Albion Street).  It was painted before the vote for the Voice Referendum that I referred to at the start of this post.  The referendum was held on 14 October and there were many hopeful signs saying Yes around the country.

This mural of the Brisbane Lions AFL football club on the wall of the Royal Derby Hotel (corner of Brunswick Street and Alexander Parade in Fitzroy) has been there for a while.  It features Kevin 'Bulldog' Murray, Fitzroy football club hero of 1960s; Jonathan Brown, a Brisbane Lions hero of more recent years, and Gunditjmara man Chris Johnson who played for Fitzroy and then was one of the players who moved to Brisbane with the club.  Chris Johnson is one of the many amazing Indigenous footy players in the AFL.

This painting of the badge saying "Condoman says use condoms" made me nostalgic, and not in the way you might be thinking with a snigger!  I remember seeing the Condoman artwork when I worked in an Aboriginal centre years ago.  Mind you, that was not as far back as the 1980s when apparently it was used in Indigenous safe sex campaigns!

This large mural of federal Senator Lidia Thorpe embodies the NAIDOC theme of ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’.  The artwork is by Jeswri, a Gadigal (Sydney) artist now based in Melbourne and includes the text "Treaty: teach them blak history."  It depicts her wearing a traditional possum cloak.  She is a fierce advocate for the Aboriginal community, though she can be a divisive influence as was seen during the Voice Referendum. 

I included this small artwork on Piera Street in East Brunswick opposite the Lidia Thorpe mural because it is cute and I noticed that there is no Aboriginal flag on the rest of the artwork featured.

The people at Reynard Street Neighbourhood House (formerly Robinson Reserve Neighbourhood House) have again done some fantastic art to brighten up Robinson Reserve!  There are lots of hands with "welcome" written in many langauges.  This one has "Wominjeka", which means welcome in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people in Melbourne. (Our city is also referred to as Naarm by the Aboriginal community and is being seen increasingly in non-Aboriginal media and documents).

This colourful artwork on the side of the public toilets in Robinson Reserve, possible connected to the Neighbourhood House, is of a Barrawarn (Magpie) and Manerlong (Native blue banded bee).  The mural  notes say it is by Tye Luke and Sean Miller with The Torch, and it was was blessed by Wurundieri - (Wol Wurrung Elder Uncle Bill Nicholson on the 18th November 2023.

Previous posts for NAIDOC Week on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:
Aboriginal flag cake for NAIDOC Week
Aboriginal Street Art in Melbourne (2) for NAIDOC Week
Aboriginal Street Art in Melbourne (3) for NAIDOC Week
Aboriginal Street Art in Melbourne (4) for NAIDOC Week
Porridgies, children's books, racism and recognition 
Street Art in Melbourne #6 Aboriginal art for Sorry Day