City of Darebin’s FUSE Festival is thrilled to announce the appointment of Allara Briggs Pattison as Curator-in-Residence for Ganbu Gulin, which launches the City of Darebin’s multi-arts festival FUSE Spring 2024, taking place 14 – 22 September.
Ganbu Gulin, meaning “One Mob” in Woi-Wurrung language, is a co-created event with Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. On Saturday 14 September, this annual inclusive celebration welcomes all Darebin citizens, existing and new, to Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony.
Allara brings a thematic curated offering of live music, visual art, panel talk and community participatory workshops. This free event is an invitation to all community members to acknowledge, respect and learn from Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung the Traditional Owners, and celebrate First Nations artists.
Allara is a powerful Yorta Yorta winyarr. She is a storyteller, composer, director, producer, musician, and sound designer. With humour and integrity, Allara uses the double-bass and sound samples from Country to weave textures for healing in her work “I am Sovereign, I am Free”. Allara’s innovative music speaks to Blak justice and sovereignty.
In appreciation of NAIDOC week, Allara reflects on how she views her role and Ganbu Gulin’s purpose in relation to this year’s NAIDOC theme of ‘Keep the Fire Burning’. “Blak, loud and proud, we let those sparks fly through our songs and ceremony to light a cool burn, slowly but steadily cleaning out old colonial formats to make space for justice for our people, waters, lands and kin, as well as standing in solidarity and power with all oppressed peoples across the world. Together with Wurundjeri, on Woi-Wurrung Country.”
Additionally, nominations are now open for the Darebin Community Awards, which recognise individuals and groups that have made an outstanding contribution to the Darebin community. The Darebin Community Awards will be awarded in nine categories: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Leader of the Year, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Emerging Young Community Leader of the Year, Community Group of the Year, Sustainability Award either awarded for an individual or Community Group, Lifetime Achievement Award, CALD Elder Community Leader of the Year and CALD Emerging Community Leader of the Year.
About FUSE
FUSE is the City of Darebin’s multi-arts festival—providing a platform for local artists, designers and performers to transform our amazing city into a dynamic hub of creativity. FUSE allows artists and audiences alike to enjoy Darebin’s streets, parks, venues, theatres, galleries and public spaces as transformative zones—infused with the power of art, culture, and creativity.
September 14 – 22
Image: Wild Hardt
