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Singing an ancient story passed from generation to generation.
Artist Juanella Donovan and her daughters are joining the older women to dance the story of the seven sisters, feet in the pink desert sand outside Port Augusta.
“I started singing along with the ladies, and I could hear my babies singing along with the ladies and I had to stop myself from crying. You know, those are the memories that I have of my childhood, the same sand dunes, that same dances and some of the elders aren’t here anymore, but those are the beautiful memories that we cherish.”
Bringing together her community to practice culture on country is what inspires Juanella Donovan.
Her own childhood memories are steeped in the art and culture of her mob.
"I feel like that has really helped me build a strong cultural foundation and also cementing my identity as a proud Aboriginal person and my community and then helping me share that with others.”
Ms Donovan's latest work - in progress under a national regional arts fellowship – is a sculptural installation called 'Mother.'
Woven from emu feathers and raffia, Mother is the root ancestor connecting the past present and future.
Her maker - a mother of four herself - is also a director of a new art collective.
Port Augusta Aboriginal Arts Mob arts mob - or PAAM - is part of the APY Art Collective, an Aboriginal owned network of art centres in communities across South Australia's remote north west.
The artists' inaugural exhibition recently showed in Adelaide, but as Ms Donovan explains, it’s not all about hanging work in galleries.
“Art centres change lives, it helps our people to make an income that's respectful of themselves, and their culture and you know we have that here in Port Augusta. From award winning artists to people doing their first canvas, we’re all together, we are all helping each other and that's really, really special."
Ms Donovan says Port Augusta has not had a centre like this since she was a child.
And she’s hoping it will bridge what she sees as a break down in connection between young people and elders.
"And helping the youth to get back on track and the fellas to get back together and remember what's important and that's preserving our culture and moving forward in a positive and productive way and I feel like PAAM is helping to make our community strong again. I think the hidden beauty of these art centres is the conversations that we as women are having over the table with the youth, with our children with our babies in our arms while we are making."
She says PAAM supports many artists from more remote areas who need to stay in Port Augusta to access services.
“There's many artists that have disabilities or medical reason why they need to live in Port Augusta and away from country and to have that access to supported culture in a culturally safe place that's what PAAM provides to them and I think that's very important.”
Ms Donovan's mother Artist Regina McKenzie is also a strong advocate.
"The more we teach our children about who and where we come from and that's our culture, the better and the continuance is something I believe we should keep practising.”
A generational commitment to keeping culture alive.
