Badimia Land Aboriginal Corporation (BLAC) has successfully received the following Grants:
Cultural Heritage Interpretation Plan: Lotterywest Grant
Project completed March 2015
BLAC received a grant to complete a Cultural Heritage Interpretation Plan (CHIP) on the Granites Complex which is nine kilometres north of Mount Magnet.
The Granites is a highly significant area to Badimia People with the Granites complex and Granites burial being registered under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA). The area has Gnamma holes, a burial and rock art sites in the area which connect to stories and cultural knowledge that relate to other sites outside of the Granites.
The Badimia People hold the Granites area in high regard due to it being one of the only culturally significant rock art galleries within the Mid West region, along with it being a special ceremonial site for men and a traditional camping area.
At present tourists only have old signs notifying them of what is around them and these date back to the 1980’s. BLAC is now looking into ways of implementing the CHIP.
Art of the Granites: Department of Communication and the Arts Grant
Project completed April 2016
In November 2015 BLAC received funding from the Australian Government’s Department of Communication and the Arts (DCA) toward BLAC’s proposed ‘Arts of the Granites’ project. This project was wholly funded through the DCA’s Indigenous Languages and Arts Program, with additional in-kind support provided by Terra Rosa Consulting (Terra Rosa) and Bundiyarra Irra Wangga Language Centre (Bundiyarra).
This ‘Art of the Granites’ project took workshop participants on country to The Granites where they were encouraged to speak about their experiences at The Granites and use this as inspiration for their artworks. This facilitated more senior community members to impart stories and other cultural knowledge to younger community members, including the children and teenagers who attended. Most of the paintings were inspired by The Granites themselves and the gathering of people at the site, paintings were also inspired by the story of the Seven Sisters, who stopped at a place about 60 km from Mount Magnet. As Badimia participants painted, the Terra Rosa facilitators consulted with the artists to develop mini-biographies, and documented the symbolism and meaning of the paintings.
This project culminated with a highly successful exhibition of the works produced at The Granites at Kidogo Arthouse in Fremantle.
Art of the Granites: Department of Communications and the Arts Grant
The Arts of the Granites Project was a unique project designed to celebrate Badimia culture and identity through the creative interpretation of ‘the Granites’, a highly significant heritage place to the Badimia People. BLAC in collaboration with the Wirnda Barna Artists Inc. (Wirnda Barna), Terra Rosa, Bundiyarra and influential elders of the Badimia community developed a four‐day community‐based project consisting of art and language workshops and an exhibition exploring the cultural narrative of the Granites. The Project was inspired by the poor visibility of Badimia art and history in the wider Mid West region, and the Badimia community’s desire to rectify this. Talented award winning artists and leaders within the Badimia community came together on this Project to counteract the ongoing loss of culture experienced by Indigenous populations. The workshops resulted in the first art and language resources about the Granites produced by Badimia People available to the public.
Granites Graffiti Removal: Department of Aboriginal Affairs Grant
Project completed March 2017
This grant was originally provided by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs whose functions have now moved to the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. The new department name is used below.
‘The Granites’ is a cultural heritage place and tourist site located approximately 7 km north of Mount Magnet in the Mid West region of Western Australia, on the traditional lands of the Badimia People. Though typically referred to as a single place, the area of cultural value consists of two heritage places currently registered with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH), including The Granites Complex (DPLH ID 5518), and The Granites Burial (DPLH other heritage place ID 4698).
Sometime between April and September 2015 a series of vandalism events resulted in permanent damage to the Granites, causing sadness and distress amongst the Badimia community. The worst incident occurred at a unique and extremely significant men’s place, with an extensive amount of red, spray painted graffiti obscuring the intricate ochre paintings linked to men’s ceremonial business. The damaged paintings are some of the last remaining examples of material culture linked to men’s business on Badimia Country, and are also a rare example of painted rock art in the wider region. The paintings have been documented to typify the traditional artistic style of the Badimia People.
Due to the delicate nature of the removal, it was requested by the DPLH that a section 18 application be made over the site. This was granted on 24 November 2016.
On the first day of the project, Artcare conservators spent time with the Badimia People to show them the various techniques required to remove the graffiti. For the first two days of the project, the Badimia People focused on removing graffiti from the bare rock to practice these techniques. On the final day of the project, they assisted with removing the graffiti from the painted surfaces of the rock shelter.
The graffiti removal was successfully completed on 30 March 2017. As there was some time left, the team determined that they would remove a number of birds’ nests from the ceiling of the shelter to limit the impact of these on the ongoing integrity of the site.
Art, sites and language of Kirkalocka: Department of Communication and the Arts Grant
Project completed July 2017
The ‘Art, sites and language of Kirkalocka Station’ project, was designed to celebrate Badimia culture and identity through the creative interpretation of Kirkalocka station and other culturally significant sites such as the Granites. The project was made possible by grant money provided by the Department of Communication and the Arts, and was designed by BLAC in collaboration with the TR Foundation and influential elders from the Badimia community.
The project was developed to address the shortage of events for Badimia people to celebrate culture, art and identity whilst also offering a chance at transference of knowledge from generation to generation. Along with this, the project aimed to grow the amount of art and language resources relating to significant sites for the Badimia people.
Arts projects carried out on the sites focused on the transmission and preservation of Badimia language, culture, and heritage for younger generations. The project centred on a series of art workshops and storytelling as part of the Mount Magnet and Badimia 2017 NAIDOC celebrations. The events culminated in an awards ceremony at the local Community Development Programme (CDP), Yulella, where community members were recognised for their efforts.
The project was also buoyed by the recent recognition by the national NAIDOC awards of community Elder Alex ‘Ollie’ George, awarded the title of Male Elder of the Year for his tireless efforts at preserving Badimia language. This was a wonderful recognition for Ollie and catapulted Badimia language and culture to the forefront of NAIDOC celebrations.