Knowing Nullaki Festival wraps up this weekend with First Nations panel

Artworks created during Denmark’s Knowing Nullaki festival are on display as the festival comes to a close with a final event on this weekend.

The artworks were created by members of the Denmark community in collaboration with artist Angela Rossen who was the artist in residence at Denmark Arts House in May.

Run in collaboration with Green Skills, the festival is named after the local Indigenous word for seagrass and the Wilson Inlet.

The pieces in the exhibition now on show at Butter Factory Studios Denmark include 2.1m by 0.9m paintings created by Rossen and local school students that depict the flora and fauna of the Wilson Inlet.

Rossen thanked the students and school staff for “providing the leadership projects like this need to be successful”.

“It was very difficult to select which individual pieces to display as they were all worth exhibiting, we just didn’t have space for everything,” she said.

The art show is open every day except Wednesdays until June 26.

Menang elder Vernice Gillies, who led several cultural tours during the festival and visited each participating school, said she was pleased to see the Denmark community’s commitment to care for the inlet and understand its cultural significance.

“I take great pleasure in seeing all of the children involved and the pride they have in their part in the exhibition,” Ms Gillies said.

“These are the next generation and are therefore the most important people here.”

This weekend also marks the last major event of the festival — the Culture, Arts and Country for First Nations Artists panel.

The panel will provide a Noongar perspective on the deep links between culture, artistic expression and connection to the environment.

It will be hosted by Albany First Nations artist Shandell Cummings with emerging artist Brianna Williams and elders Lynette Knapp and Aden Eades.

The event will be held at the Butter Factory Studios from 10am to 12.30pm on Sunday.

To register, visit greenskills.org.au/knowing-nullaki.