Baluk Arts
Indigenous artists of Frankston & the Mornington Peninsula

Citylights
Rutledge Lane Australia
October 6 - November 6 2010

Biik Land is an exhibition of ochre stencil works produced by Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Aboriginal artists over the last 6 months, in workshops commissioned and produced by Baluk Arts and Frankston Arts Centre and facilitated by Amac of Citylights Projects. Regan Tamanui (aka HaHa) joined the artists for two days as a guest mentor.

Baluk artists painted a collaborative stencil wall in Rutledge Lane on the 5th and 6th of October, coinciding with the  exhibition Biik Land at Until Neve. Photographic documentation of a previous aerosol stencil workshop, Nairm Djambana is featured at Citylights Hosier Lane and the panels are shown at City Library.

Working with ochre was a unique focus of the workshops, and artists travelled to Grampians Gariwerd to study rock art, explore culture and collect ochre.

Baluk Artists developed the idea for the ochre stencil project as a vehicle to express Indigenous connection to community, culture and place, using contemporary and traditional Indigenous techniques. The works incorporate ancient traditions of marking identity or mapping specific sites or stories. This expression acknowledges and incorporates the dynamic relationship between the past, the present and the future, creating works of vibrancy that celebrate Aboriginal life as it has been, and as it is now. 

ABOUT BALUK ARTS

Baluk Arts is a collective of urban Aboriginal artists from Frankston and Mornington Peninsula whose work reflects themes of identity in a contemporary cultural context. The artists are celebrating the first year of operation of their newly formed Victorian Aboriginal arts organisation with an exciting and successful workshop program, quality exhibitions and delivery of artist services.

Artists range from 10 to 62 years of age and are from diverse Aboriginal backgrounds. Family groups and members of the stolen generation have reconnected with their culture and express their histories through strong artistic practices to support their cultural and creative well-being. Baluk Arts encourages community development, youth leadership, participation and interaction, and Indigenous governance through innovative arts practice.

Baluk Arts is building a long-term and sustainable future for Aboriginal people of Frankston and Mornington Peninsula. Baluk is a local Boonwurrung word meaning clan or extended family group.