banj ba walert : water and possum

Date

Fri 2 – Sun 11 May

Venue

The Edge, Fed Square
Swanston Street & Flinders Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Produced by Stacie Nicholson-Piper, this immersive story is presented to honour Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Vicki Nicholson-Brown, exploring the Wurundjeri tradition of possum skin drums and the creation of water dance.
Visual Art
Film
Free
World Premiere

There is healing power in renewing another cultural practice that was interrupted, a practice embodied by our ancestors for thousands of generations. We awaken and evolve the making and playing of possum skin drums, through the hands of our Elder, Aunty Vicki, our cultural knowledge keeper and maker of her framed drum over three decades ago.

The importance of our possum drumming runs deep, it is the heartbeat of country, it is the first sound we hear in our mother's womb, in our grandmother's womb and it is an instrument that brings people together across the globe.

We beat our drums together once again for the first time since pre-contact, and heal with our community, our ancestors, our land, our waterways, our spirit animals, our kin and our kirip through an honouring of a Wurundjeri matriarch and our life force banj, water.

Performance Details

Venue

The Edge, Fed Square

Swanston Street & Flinders Street, Melbourne VIC 3000


Dates & Times

Fri 2 – Sun 11 May Exhibition hours: Daily 9am–6pm


Tickets

Free, no booking required ACCESSIBILITY ENQUIRIES Venue Phone: (03) 9655 1900 Venue Email: info@fedsquare.com

Artist Information

Lead Artist

Stacie Nicholson-Piper (she/her), Wurundjeri/Dja Dja Wurrung/Ngurai Illum-Wurrung)


Contributor

Aunty Vicki Nicholson-Brown (she/her), Wurundjeri


Contributor

Djirri Djirri Dancers (Wurundjeri)


Imagery

Christian Capurro, Courtesty of Koorie Heritage Trust


Artist Bio

Stacie Nicholson-Piper Stacie Nicholson-Piper is a proud Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai Illum-Wurrung woman, a Djirri Djirri Dancer, and the current Chairperson of the Victorian NAIDOC Committee. Stacie holds the position of First Nations Curator at TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, and Curator for Museums Victoria, accountable for engaging with the Victorian First Peoples community and developing a program of exhibitions and events to tell their stories. Stacie is currently helping curate the William Biik exhibition at the Victorian State library. Stacie has a great love for community, a desire to support and witness the progress of First Peoples, and a drive in protecting and healing Country. Aunty Vicki Nicholson-Brown Aunty Vicki Nicholson-Brown is one of Stacie Pipers mother’s 15 siblings, she is the third youngest and is 64 years of age. An Elder and knowledge keeper, Aunty Vicki, has immense years of activism and community work and has achieved many positive changes and accomplishments in community and beyond. Djirri Djirri Dancers Djirri Djirri are the only Wurundjeri female dance group, and are Traditional Custodians of Narrm (Melbourne) and surrounds. Djirri Djirri means Willy Wagtail in Woiwurrung, our Mother Tongue. The Willy Wagtail is the Spirit’s Messenger and gave us dance! Our dances honour our Liwik (Ancestors), Kerr-up-non (Family), Biik (Country) and animals. We are all connected by blood through one woman, Borate, Berak's (William Barak’s) sister. We ngarrga (dance) and yinga (sing) together as bininang (cousins), babi (nieces), girrin (aunties), baban (mothers), manggip (daughters), liwurruk (sisters) and bubup (babies).

This is a free exhibition. Audiences will be immersed in a 360° audio experience, where the deep, resonant beats of the possum skin drum intertwined with breathtaking visuals on the large screen, creating a powerful connection to local Wurundjeri/Woiwurrung culture and storytelling. Audiences will have both sitting and standing options.

  • Accessible Bathroom

  • Accessible Parking

  • Changing Places toilet facilities

  • Open Captioning

  • Wheelchair Accessible

    Wheelchair Accessible

Co-commissioned by YIRRAMBOI 2025 and Fed Square.

Supported by Australian Film Television and Radio School.

Supported by the Great Forest Trail Marathon.

This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.

Special thanks for Djirri Djirri’s for their support.

Partners