BIG FISHING STORY: YOLŊU PERSPECTIVES - Agency Projects x Artbank MDW panel

Fishing design, knowledge and practice have existed for millennia in First Nations communities, imbued with concepts of sustainability, ecological repair, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. Join facilitator Mayatili Marika for a discussion on art, design and lived experience from a Yolŋu perspective, accompanied by Artbank's Natalie O'Connor. This panel will explore themes including the continuum between traditional designs and contemporary art pieces, the importance of fishing in Yolŋu communities, and why it's important for national institutions to build collections of First Nations design work. 

This panel is presented as part of Melbourne Design Week 2025, in connection with the Artbank exhibition Catch: Stories of First Nations Fishing from the Artbank Collection.

Speakers: 

Dhukumul Waṉambi is the youngest daughter of the late Wukuṉ Waṉambi, esteemed artist and Cultural Director of The Mulka Project. A 2021 graduate of Yirrkala Bilingual School, she was admitted to Charles Darwin University to study law but deferred after her father's passing in 2022 to spend time with her family in Yirrkala while preparing for his funeral.. At The Mulka Project, she worked as a linguist and later joined the digital production team, filming and editing footage of community ceremonies and events. She was a key contributor to the Rarrirarri (Spirits) digital artwork for the 2023 Shadow Spirit exhibition in Melbourne. In 2024, she traveled to the U.S. to speak at the Maḏayin exhibition, curated by her father, and assisted with its presentation at the University of Virginia. Her solo digital work, Gurka’wuy, earned a Highly Commended award at the 2024 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

Kathleen Malpamba is a senior fibre artist at Bula’bula Arts, who works on her brightly coloured and dynamic pieces from her home in Tank, an Outstation on the outskirts of the Ramingining Community. Born into a family of talented and dedicated artists, Malpamba was taught as a young girl to weave by her mother, renowned artist R. Djunginy Malibirr (dec.). Her mother created a strong legacy that Kathleen maintains to this day alongside her sister Janice Djupuduwuy. Kathleen's works are contemporary in style, using bright, naturally sourced colours, often featuring her family's signature luminescent green. However, her knowledge and skilful adaptation of traditional techniques ground her work in Yolngu culture, making her a versatile and respected fibre artist. In addition to a career as an exhibiting artist spanning decades, Kathleen is a strong presence in the Ramingining Community with the Arafura Swamp Rangers on cultural activities.

Mali Djarrbal is Senior Miyalk (woman) Ranger for the Arafura Swamp Rangers (ASRAC). Mali has worked for ASRAC for over 10 years and does a great job looking after Country. She’s an excellent role model and has gained many skills over the years, including leadership skills from her time with NORFORCE as an Australian Army reservist. In her rare spare time, she weaves from skills taught by mother, Clara Wubukwubuk (dec.)

Facilitator Mayatili Marika is a Rirratjingu Traditional Owner and Yolngu woman based in north-east Arnhem Land. Part of a new generation of leadership for Yolngu people, Mayatili is a bilingual leader and advocate who is involved in the education pipeline for Yolngu people in the region. Mayatili belongs to one of the great artistic and political dynasties of Australia. Her father is Wandjuk Marika O.B.E. and her grandfather is Mawalan Marika. For over a decade Mayatili has been the Cultural Curator and programmer of the Garma Festival (Australia's largest annual indigenous event) in North East Arnhem Land.
Mayatili has been working closely with major domestic and international art institutions such as National Gallery of Australia, the Met in New York, and many commercial galleries in Australia and the US, as a curator of exhibitions, including the recent groundbreaking and critically acclaimed travelling exhibition Maḏayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala.

Melbourne Design Week is an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. 

For more information on Melbourne Design Week 2025 please visit - designweek.melbourne

#Agency #FirstNationsDesign #MelbourneDesignWeek #NGV @NGVMelbourne

Image courtesy of Bula'bula Arts.