This year’s NAIDOC Week will be held from July 3rd to 10th, and the theme is “Get up! Stand up! Show up!.” As part of the festivities, the event will contain a poster competition for all those over the age of 13.
Members of the committee wanted to see creative and interesting submissions that reflect the theme of this year’s event. If you are interested in the poster competition, please read on for more information.
The competition was open to all children over the age of 13 and adults and aimed to encourage people to express their culture and identity through art. Therefore, judges wanted to see submissions that show off creativity, reflect this year’s theme, and showcase the connection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
As well as the national and international recognition of the winner’s art, participants also entered because they wanted $10,000 – this was the prize for the poster competition. Not only this, but the winning poster will become the official poster for 2022 NAIDOC Week.
Just in case this wasn’t enough, there was also a National NAIDOC Awards ceremony ticket for the winner and a guest up for grabs. With all these prizes, it’s no surprise that thousands of people sent in their art for the competition. After a couple of months, the poster competition finally ended on March 14th.
Aboriginal Art for NAIDOC Week
Aboriginal art plays an important role during NAIDOC Week. In a previous year, the theme was ‘Heal Country’. The word ‘country’ not only refers to the land but also encompasses the relationships that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have with the environment.
The artwork submitted for the year’s competition reflected this theme, just as the judges expected in 2022. One of the entries was a painting of a kangaroo against a background of leaves and branches. The kangaroo was surrounded by dots, which represented both stars and cells. The artist, Lynette Noolan, said that the painting represented “healing country through storytelling”.
Another entry was a photograph of three women in traditional dress walking across an outback road. The photographer, Gina Allende-Turner, said that she wanted to capture the “strength, beauty and culture” of Aboriginal women.
The competition was open to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the entries were judged by a panel of experts. The winning artwork was eventually displayed in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
NAIDOC Week is an important time for celebrating the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It’s a time to come together and learn more about the unique and diverse cultures of Australia’s First Peoples; art is a powerful way of achieving all this.
History of NAIDOC Week
Where did NAIDOC Week originate? How did it become the huge celebration that we see today? NAIDOC Week has its origins in the 1920s, when Aboriginal groups started to hold protests and days of mourning for the loss of their culture.
In 1955, the Day of Mourning was held on Australia Day – a day that is now seen as a celebration of all things Australian. This was a powerful statement by Aboriginal people, who were highlighting the fact that, for them, Australia Day represented the beginning of the dispossession of their lands and cultures.
In 1958, the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) was formed to organise national activities during NAIDOC Week. NAIDOC’s main focus was to campaign for Aboriginal rights and recognition within Australian society.
Despite many years passing since the first event, NAIDOC Week is still an important time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Naidoc- Australians Together and other companies play an important role in providing resources for the event!