Works of six Indigenous female artists to be projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House

Works by a group of Indigenous artists will be projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House for a night-time light show that explores ancient stories.

One of Australia’s most iconic landmarks is playing canvas to the works and stories of six Indigenous female artists hand-picked from across the country. 

The sails of the Sydney Opera House were on Thursday illuminated for the first day of the ongoing projection exhibition Badu Gili: Wonder Women.

Aboriginal artists Judith Inkamala (left), Marlene Gilson (middle) and Marlene Rubuntja (2nd right) stand in front of their art work with curator Coby Edgar (far right)

‘Badu Gili – meaning ‘water light’ … is a free daily experience that explores ancient First Nations stories in a spectacular six-minute projection,’ organisers say. 

The 2021 projection series is a collaboration of the Opera House and the Art Gallery of NSW, marking the latter facility’s 150th anniversary.

The project is the first year-round lighting experience to be launched by the Opera House and will be displayed nightly on the eastern Bennelong sails. 

The light show will showcase the work of First Nations artists Elaine Russell, Marlene Gibson, Judith Inkamala, Marlene Rubuntja, Sally Mulda and Kaylene Whiskey.   

The projections celebrate the works and stories of six First Nations artists hand-picked from across the country by curator Coby Edgar

The creative collaboration between the Opera House and the Art Gallery of NSW kicked off on Thursday night

The projection is part of the Opera House’s First Nations program and aims to ‘foster and celebrate a shared sense of belonging for all Australians’.  

Coby Edgar, curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, said she was excited to see the works animated on the sails.   

‘I chose each of (the artists) because they debunk and challenge the perception of what people might think Aboriginal art is and what it looks like’, she told 2SER radio. 

The project is the first year-round lighting experience to be launched by the Opera House

‘They all have stories that I think are really relevant and important for what we’re going through at the moment as a world and as a nation.’

The sails will illuminate each evening on rotation in the third chapter of Badu Gili, which has been held previously in 2017 and 2018.

The projection will be accompanied by Badu Gili LIVE, a free outdoor music series played by First Nations performers on the Opera House steps.  

The animated light show begins at sunset each day or around 5:30pm and is funded by the NSW Government through the Culture Up Late initiative.  

The 2021 projection series is a collaboration of the Opera House and the Art Gallery of NSW