Last week Bayley Arts proudly opened our NAIDOC Week 2025 exhibition; Strength, Resilience, Connection. The exhibition features powerful works by Leslie J Stanley, a Wuli Wuli elder and artist from Central West Queensland and Chrissyray Weetra, a young emerging artist of the Warumungu and Arrente tribes.
Now in its second year, our NAIDOC Week exhibition is a proud moment in the Bayley Arts calendar. We are honoured to once again celebrate the voices, stories and creativity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through art.
We were privileged to begin the evening with a Welcome to Country by Bunurong Elder and Senior Cultural Heritage Officer, Uncle Mark Brown, from the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. Uncle Mark welcomed us all with generosity, grounding us in the significance of Bunurong Land and Culture.
The exhibition was officially opened by the incredible Judith Jackson (Aunty Jacko), whose moving speech offered deep insight, connection, and warmth. As someone who knows both artists personally, Aunty Jacko spoke not only to their creative talents but to their lived experiences and cultural strength – further connecting the audience with their artwork.
We were also pleased to welcome Cr Andrew Hockley of Bayside City Council, along with Jordan Sutardy, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Broker, Community Building and Inclusion from the City of Port Phillip. Their presence and support reflect the strong relationships being built across councils and communities to advance truth-telling and cultural inclusion.
On Saturday, we held a sold-out NAIDOC workshop with Chrissyray Weetra. Using her bold colour palette, Chrissyray guided the group through traditional painting techniques and shared the meaning behind cultural symbols. Everyone created their own designs on rocks and eucalyptus leaves to take home – a beautiful way to honour culture, creativity and connection.
We welcome you to visit and experience this very special exhibition; one that reminds us of the enduring strength, resilience, and connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
By visiting this exhibition and purchasing artwork, you’re supporting the work of Indigenous artists and helping Bayley Arts continue to create inclusive, meaningful opportunities for artists with disability to thrive within the wider arts community.
Strength, Resilience, Connection runs until 25 July at Bayley Arts Gallery in Highett. The gallery is open Monday to Friday, 9am – 4pm and entry is free.
Bayley Arts would like to thank Bayside City Council for supporting the Welcome to Country and artist workshop.