Three Exhibitions at Godinymayin

International
Women’s Day
2022
Godinymayin
Yijard Rivers
Arts and
Culture
Centre
THREE
EXHIBITIONS
10 March to 23 April 2022

K Space Gallery
WOMEN OF
KATH-RYNE
A Creative Visual Arts Project by
and about Women from our Community

Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre is all about
expressing who we are, celebrating culture, connecting artists
and audiences, and making our community more creative. We’re
always looking for ways to do that. This project has been
developed as a visual festival of the many female faces, stories, and
leaders in our region—as our contribution to International Women's
Day 2022. Each participating artist is expressing who we are.
Developed by Godinymayin and our community partners, the Women
of Kath-ryne project was led by board members and coordinators
Toni Tapp Coutts and Siobhan Mackay. The commuinty art project
began a few months ago when they invited over 30 local women to
make new works of art inspired by women important to them.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Northern Territory Government,
our organisation provided a blank canvas and art supplies to each
participant and asked them to create something special to present at
the Centre. Three dozen women form across our region accepted the
challege and began making new art.
In this exhibition, viewers will find stories, paintings, photographs,
collage, and even textiles—a collective visual celebration for 2022
International Women's Day. Each participant was asked to think about
a heroic woman in her life—somebody who has made an impact on
their view of the world.
With canvas and paint supplies, they added mixed-media,
photography, collage, textiles, and anything else that would reveal an
inspiration, a mentor, an important person. We welcome you in to
meet the Women of Kath-ryne—and in each canvas, discover the
stories that fill the canvas.

Lambert Gallery
WE ARE
STRONG
WOMEN
Ngagurr awa falmi,
lurrity napa ngannim

Merrepen Arts is a strong dynamic indigenous art centre, firmly
anchored on the banks of the Daly River. Like the waterway, the
centre has ebbed and flowed: always moving forward with assistance
from the local women.
The story of the art centre began in 1986 when a Women’s Centre
Majellan House was opened in Nauiyu, 230 kilometres southwest from
Darwin. The community is surrounded by small rocky hills, luxuriant
wetlands, and is home to a large variety of wildlife.
Almost as soon as the centre was set up the Nauiyu women
demonstrated amazing untapped artistic skills. Given painting materials
their latent skills became a creative centre, and Merrepen Arts was
founded. The name comes from the local sand palm plant and was
chosen as a mark of respect for the older women who used the fibres of
the plant to make their dillybags and baskets.
Over time tutors and later managers with various skills were brought into
Nauiyu to assist the business of promoting and selling the art. In 1992 a
dedicated screen-printing studio was added to Merrepen Arts and in
1999 a new gallery and residence established. These days both men and
women are making art and exhibiting there—although women have
always remained the backbone of the centre (as artists, board members,
arts workers, and general support staff).
We Are Strong Women—Ngagurr awa falmi, lurrity napa ngannim, is a
celebration for all the Nauiyu women artists. Their combined talents,
strength, resilience, and tenacity have come to Godinymayin. Curated
by Merrepen Manager Dr Cathy Laudenbach, the work of six artists is
featured: Patricia Marrfurra McTaggart AM, Marita Sambono, Christina
Yambeing, AnnCarmel Mulvien, Nola Jimarin and Carmen Gilbert.
These powerful women work in a variety of mediums, from textiles,
painting, print making to ceramics and unique merchandise. At
Godinymayin, we are grateful for their presence here, and for the
partnership with Merrepen Arts. The strong women of Nauiyu hope you
enjoy their work.

Laneway Gallery
HEALING
COUNTRY AND
COMMUNITY
Photographs by Renae Saxby for the
Strong Women for Healthy Country Network

Back in 2019, Rembarrnga, Dalabon, and Mayili elders invited women
caring for Country from across the Territory to meet
at Bawurrbarnda in central Arnhem Land. There, women from 32 ranger
groups came together and articulated a shared vision: We are strong
Indigenous women of the Northern Territory. We stand united as one
strong voice. We commit to a network that gives equal power to the
rights of all our women. Strong Women means Healthy Country.
Today this network is known as Strong Women for Healthy Country and
is proudly hosted by Mimal Land Management. It continues to grow in
size and in May 2021 over 260 women from across the Territory met at
Banatjarl on Jawoyn Country for the second Strong Women for Healthy
Country Forum.
While there the women connected with one another and affirmed a
commitment to a collective vision of strong and strategic advocacy,
collaboration, communication and governance. The images in this
Godinymayin exhibition, Healing Country and Community, are all
photographs taken at that landmark gathering.
This gallery project began only a few months ago, when Banatjarl
cultural advisor Miliwanga Wurrben and network coordinator Kate van
Wezel made a visit to Godinymayin. They met new chief executive Eric
Holowacz and began discussing plans for the centre's upcoming
International Women's Day exhibitions. After learning more about
Strong Women for Healthy Country, Holowacz suggested an exhibition
of photographs to fit Godinymayin's new Laneway Gallery—and that led
to the documentary work of photographer Renae Saxby you see here.
In this exhibition, Saxby distills the beauty and power of the gathering
held at Banatjarl, where women travelled from far and wide to share
experiences, creative conversations, and intercultural exchange.
Through the photographer’s intuitive eye and lens, we get a close look
at an important gathering—and meetings filled with honest brave
conversation, art therapy, weaving, and healing spaces.

GODINYMAYIN
GIVES THANKS
Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre was established in
2012 as the flagship cultural facility for the Katherine Region, and later
this year we will mark our 10th anniversary—with some exciting expansion
plans in store. Our founders were a visionary group of local artists, elders,
civic leaders, station adn business owners, educators, and government
partners who wanted to make a special place for the community. And they
did. We thank you for being part of our history, programs, events, and future
growth.
With these three 2022 International Women’s Day exhibitions, we offer
gratitude to the Godinymayin team—Trish Aspey, Richard Starr, Robert
Paynter, Eric Holowacz—for their work to deliver cultural events, gatherings,
and experiences. We express abundant thanks to gallery volunteers Jake
Qunlivan and Danny Murphy, as well as Jherry Matahelumual, Alec Moylan,
and Adelaide Laqere. And we give gratitude to board members and Women
of Kath-ryne coordinators Toni Tapp Coutts and Siobhan Mackay, to Cathy
Laudenbach of Merrepen Arts, and to the dozens of people involved in
making these exhibitions possible.
We would also like to acknowledge support from ANKA—Arnhem Northern
and Kimberley Artists Aboriginal Corporation, Katherine Womens
Information & Legal Service, Strong Women for Healthy Country Network,
and every wonderful artist who has work in these International Women’s Day
exhibitions.
Here at the Centre, we are forever grateful for the ongoing support of our
principal partners the Northern Territory Government and Katherine. And in
everything we do, we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land and
region we inhabit—the Jawoyn, Wardaman and Dagoman people—and
their Elders past, present, and emerging.
Image on Cover: Detail of photograph by Renae Saxby, from the Healing
Country and Community exhibition

THREE GODINYMAYIN
EXHIBITIONS