Since 2023, Curtin University’s School of Population Health and the Ardyaloon community in remote Western Australia have co-developed a strengths-based photovoice model to explore and share children’s perspectives on wellbeing.

Our World in Photos amplifies child participants as artists, image-makers and knowledge holders. The photographic medium facilitates expression beyond the confines of adult vocabulary and authority. When we are no longer speaking for children but with children, new pathways for dialogue are made possible.

Join us for a morning dialogue exploring the opportunities offered by this model to listen to children, observe their creativity, and hear their perspectives on what matters to them. Meaningful listening isn’t only a duty, but a crucial foundation to effective health policy.

Hosted by Project Lead Lauri Parr and Prof. Christina Pollard, the dialogue will include brief talks from the Our World in Photos project team and video footage from children, community members and audiences throughout the project. Attendees will have the opportunity to share responses to the children’s artworks, which will be presented back to them in community.

Bardi Jawi Children's Curation

Bardi Jawi children aged 8-15 present their curation of Our World in Photos, produced through immersive, on-Country photovoice workshops in the very remote West Australian community of Ardyaloon. Their photographic stories explore what wellbeing means to them, through their own voices and vision, shaped by kinship, culture, Country and daily life.

A showcase of perspectives which are often unheard, this exhibition asks audiences to observe the strength of the children’s photographs and to question what can shift when we really listen and see what they are sharing with us about wellbeing.

Underpinned by research and participatory processes, 45 on-Country workshops and 17 dialogue events, the project has reached 133 children. Producing over 200 photographic stories, children’s insights have informed new learning resources based on their priorities. Previous exhibitions include Government House Perth (2024), Rural Health West, Aboriginal Health Conference (2025), and an international debut at St Francis Xavier gallery, Nova Scotia Canada (2026).

Generously supported by: Telethon 7, Dell Technologies, Perpetual, and Forrest Research Foundation.

John Curtin Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which this work was created – the Bardi Jawi Peoples. We give respect to the Elders, past, present and emerging, and through them to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We honour their connection with land, waters and community.

Header Image: Child participant taking photos on-Country in Ardyaloon workshops. Our World in Photos photovoice project, Curtin University. Photo by Lauri Parr, 2025.

Contact the host of Morning Dialogue: Curating Our World in Photos

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