YIRRAMBOI has unveiled four major new commissions, marking the next chapter for a festival that has become a leading platform for First Nations evolutionary and experimental arts.
Spanning experimental sound, street theatre, movement, language rematriation, film and installation – each work is developed from early concept through to full realisation, culminating in world premieres across narrm (Melbourne) during the 2027 festival.
Now in its sixth iteration, the YIRRAMBOI Commissions Program sits at the heart of the festival, laying the foundation for the broader program and offering an early glimpse of what’s to come.
The program centres Victorian First Nations artists, providing resources to premiere ambitious new works rooted in community and creative sovereignty.
For more information on the 2027 YIRRAMBOI program, visit the website.
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Withewa (To Return Home)
INSTALLATION / FILM
Jedda Atkinson-Costa, Wemba Wemba / Yorta Yorta / Mutti Mutti / Barapa Barapa
Withewa is a poetic film work honouring unsung Aboriginal Elders whose life stories risk being lost if not preserved. Filmed in places rich with memory, the work weaves voice, landscape, natural light and archival material to create intimate portraits of cultural leadership, care and quiet strength.
The first in a proposed series, the project positions Elders as living archives, preserving humour, wisdom and story as both cinematic works and deeply personal family keepsakes. Guided by cultural mentorship and community consultation, Withewa acts as a living eulogy, ensuring these stories continue to echo long after Elders return to the Dreaming.
What Yet
CIRCUS / MOVEMENT
Maggie Church-Kopp, Arrernte
Johnny Brown, Anaiwan
What Yet is a new contemporary circus work examining how cultural knowledge is transferred — and disrupted — for young First Nations people today. Developed through extended research on Arrernte Country, the work transforms lived experience into powerful physical storytelling, addressing incarceration, education, childhood and cultural survival.
Led by Director Maggie Church-Kopp and Choreographer Johnny Brown, and created by an all–First Nations team, What Yet delivers a visceral call for listening, accountability and cultural continuity.
ABOUT YIRRAMBOI
YIRRAMBOI Festival platforms the interconnectedness and diversity of First Nations creatives. Deeply rooted locally, traversing nationally and internationally, YIRRAMBOI creates space for expressions of culture, identity, unity and truth through evolutionary and experimental practices.
Image: Joshua Scott
