Peregian Springs State School celebrated the opening of their very first cultural inclusive mural, ‘Emu Walking’ on Wednesday.
MP Dan Purdie and MP Sandy Bolton joined the opening, as well as Principal of Coolum High School Troy Ascot and Kabi Kabi Elder Uncle Tais, who performed the Welcome to Country.
The project started on Monday 24 May and ran over a period of two weeks.
The mural itself stretches over two stories high and includes a collaboration of real-life artistry and First Nations artwork.
During the creation of this mural, the school celebrated Reconciliation Week, a time for all to learn about shared histories, cultures, and achievements.
In doing so the school contributed to the ongoing conversation of reconciliation by bringing together our communities to create this wonderful artwork.
Nikita Newly from New Dreaming Art and Ben and Dave from Rythmicolour Collective, collaborated together with input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, on how we could best represent our school.
Nikita explained the project as she said,”This is a collaboration story of two cultures coming together to share a vision.”
“The story is based around the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students coming together and expressing what they wanted to be represented on the school wall.”
“Altogether, combined, these pieces show the children’s connections and bloodlines, the fact that we hold some sort of heritage from somewhere.
“None of us are the same, but when coming together as a unit, as a community we can all move forward to create a better education and understanding for the future generations to come.
“As the students move through schooling, they will grow and so will their dreams, that’s what the stars represent and the wildlife around them that they get to enjoy as well as the native flowers and bush life.
“The bunya trees that grow all over the GubbiGubbi/KabiKabi nation show us where we are and what country we are on. These trees hold very important purpose to the traditional owners of this land and can be used for many things. “They were traded on a yearly basis throughout the country and not just in Queensland.”
Each First Nations student also put their hand prints in the shape of what we called a humpy, a hut of sorts, to sleep under when out walking on country.
