Honouring Country

Honouring Country brings together First Nations artists from traditional countries all around Australia who now live and create on unceded Ngunnawal/Ngambri lands. These artists came together for two workshops in February 2025 with renowned Biripi jeweller Wayne Simon to develop their skills in silversmithing and metalsmithing and create a series of wearable artworks inspired by Country. These workshops were designed to help participants explore their cultural heritages and present jewellery works that use metals and non-metal materials to express their cultural concepts visually in the form of jewellery items and small-scale objects. Participants drew on their individual First Nations identity, heritage, community and personal life experiences, and explored ways to re-interpret motifs and concepts from their existing arts practices in new mediums with a focus on innovation and product diversification. Each workshop was designed so that participants could build on existing skills, or begin from the beginning to further their expertise and exploration of the medium.