Bagaaybidi Gali Group Community Art Project

Culture, Country, creativity and waterways come together through Bagaaybidi Gali – a community-led First Nations arts and cultural project across the Gwydir catchment.

Delivered by Arts North West in partnership with the Bagaaybidi Gali Group, the project brings together Elders, Knowledge Holders, artists, children, schools and community members to explore and celebrate the cultural and environmental knowledge connected to Country and the Gwydir waterways.

Across participating communities, local Elders and Knowledge Holders are guiding the selection of animals, plants and seasonal indicators that are significant to their Country. These become the starting point for creative workshops, school activities and On-Country experiences, where community members work together to develop artworks and share knowledge about waterways, wetlands, seasons and the natural environment.

Importantly, each community determines how its own Country is represented. Arts North West facilitates face-to-face meetings with Elders and community representatives before progressing into school workshops, community artist sessions and wetlands activities. Designs and cultural information are then returned to the community for review and approval.

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From Country to Creative Outcomes

The artworks, stories and knowledge developed through the project will contribute to a collection of interconnected cultural resources, including a First Nations Seasonal Calendar, cultural mapping, interpretive signage, an On-Country Waterways Assessment and a dedicated digital storytelling platform.

The website will create another way to experience the project, connecting community-created artworks with the places, waterways, animals, plants, seasons and knowledge that informed them. An interactive Rainbow Serpent will provide a pathway through the digital experience, with individual scales connecting visitors to approved community stories, artworks and cultural and environmental information.

Bagaaybidi Gali is not simply about creating a finished artwork. It is about the process of bringing generations together, creating opportunities for cultural knowledge to be shared, supporting First Nations artists and ensuring communities have an active role in telling the stories of their own Country.

At every stage, the project is guided by local cultural authority, community consent and respect for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). Cultural knowledge remains with its custodians, and only material approved for sharing will become part of the project's public outcomes.

Through art, storytelling and time spent on Country, Bagaaybidi Gali celebrates living culture and strengthens connections between community, waterways and Country for future generations.