Celebrate NAIDOC this weekend in Melton

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By Olivia Condous

Residents of Melton and surrounding suburbs will have the opportunity to celebrate NAIDOC week this Saturday with a free arts market, curated by local Kamilaroi woman and artist Lucy Webster.

Melton council is organising the event to commemorate Indigenous culture, which will be on July 2 from 12:30pm.

The family-friendly event will feature a market featuring handmade arts and crafts made by local Elders and community members, where attendees can take home bespoke objects produced by the community.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to visit Ms Webster’s art exhibition Winanga Burruguu, an exploration of traditional Aboriginal art styles designed to bring further awareness of Aboriginal culture to the wider community and encourage the Aboriginal community to share their knowledge and skills.

There will be traditional games and a drop-in arts workshop from 1:30pm, where a children’s art space will have painting activities inspired by the art exhibition and games to play from communities across Australia.

Visitors will also be welcomed to join in a yarning circle which will focus on the Dreaming stories featured in Ms Webster’s art, where dialogue will focus on finding ways for the community to grow and sustain mutual understanding and respect of shared issues.

The event will be held at Melton Library and Learning Hub from 12:30 to 3:30pm with a free barbeque at 1:30pm.