The story of the Centre
Together with wonderful artists and the community, we created a meaningful story. One that reflected ourselves and our identity.
The Munarra Centre story
A bold vision
A project of self determination, the funding, design and development of the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence was driven by the Yorta Yorta community.
In 2023 Kaiela Arts was commissioned to work alongside Spacecraft Studio, Arm Architects and landscape architects Bush Projects to develop artwork for the Centre. Kaiela Arts’ Indigenous Leads Belinda Briggs and Lyn Thorpe brought in creative talent. Their mission? To share stories and knowledge of past, present and future in the building and its landscape.
Art meets architecture
The Centre’s artworks and designs were intended to capture the meaning and purpose of Munarra as a place to celebrate the Yorta Yorta people and uphold the values of who they are.
Yorta Yorta artists Glennys Briggs, Suzanne Atkinson and Norm Stewart developed narrative responses to each space and element through a conversational process. Their artwork wraps around the cladding of the building, representing the diversity of Yorta Yorta family groups. It reflects the strength and versatility of their individual creative styles.
The fabric of creation
An intergenerational workshop, Munarra Gunyah—Thunder camps/home—brought together a group of young people and elder artists. Just like in a home, it was a space where everyone has a role to play.
Over two days of connection and creation, the prints for the interiors and landscaping took shape. Informed by smoking ceremony, conversations and items that held story—the pages of old books, artefacts and plants—embedding Aboriginal ways of doing, being and knowing into the fabric of the Centre.