Fitzroy Crossing is the latest Shooting Stars site to complete their Arts with the Stars project, which was based around fashion design. We partnered with local artists and established fashion designers through the Earthed Foundation and Fitzroy Valley District High School to pull together an ambitious project - delivering a runway show inspired by the great Aboriginal actress, Ningali Lawford, to open the Bangarra dance performance SandSong.
Art with the Stars is a project that uses arts-based research methods to provide our participants with an opportunity to connect to themselves, their community, their Country and culture. The artwork is then used alongside yarning circles as data to explore the participants attitudes towards their Aboriginality and cultural/local identity.
Fitzroy Crossing Senior Assistant, Bianca Nargoodah, led the project, using her extensive cultural knowledge and community connections to ensure the project reflected the strengths of the community.
The journey started with a trip to Kupatiya where Ningali Lawford grew up, 150km from Fitzroy Crossing. The girls were welcomed by Elders in the community and were invited to perform in the traditional dance ceremony. Bianca then shared stories of Aboriginal people being forced off their lands and made to to work in the pastoral stations, stories of people being strong whilst living between two worlds and stories of Ningali Lawford. After soaking up the environment, they were ready to tell a story through their designs.
Over the next two weeks, designers Lois Hazel and Simone Agius came out to the Shooting Stars site to assist the girls in making the collection. They worked collaboratively with the girls to paint, sew, stitch, print, carve, dye, draw, burn, cut, fray and dance. What came together was 14 amazing pieces ready for the runway.
A number of local artists visited the girls to showcase their talents and encourage the girls to be creative. Ivy Nargoodah worked with the girls on bush dying to create several outfits including scarves, wrap dresses, scrunchies, shorts and tops in a number of different dying patterns and colours. Torrence Lulu painted fabrics with the girls and Natalie Davy led the girls in sessions on jewellery-making and made a number of original pieces that used leather, feathers, seed pods, seeds and painted fabric. Finally, Lucy Kirchner from Seachains used her unique skills to make a top made of painted seeds. Being able to share the fortnight with these amazingly creative people created a powerful atmosphere that shaped the final runway looks.
On Friday, November 11 at sunset, the final runway show was held in front of hundreds of local community members and Bangarra dancers. The show started with a look back at the whole project, projected onto a big screen with Bianca’s voice narrating the journey. From there, the girls emerged from the dark runway, all of them representing their story. Fitzroy Crossing Trainee, Kahlia Rogers, closed the show by showcasing her experience in modelling in fashion shows around the country.
It takes a huge amount of courage to step out in front of a crowd of people, but every girl involved in the project did it. Fitzroy Crossing Program Coordinator, Sam Shepherd, said how proud she and the rest of the staff were of all the students for “stepping outside their comfort zone and taking pride in their artworks.”
The Art with the Stars project is possible thanks to funding from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
