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HOLDING S P A C E

@holdingspace_project

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A love letter to Cummeragunja
Premiered 1st May 2025 @yirramboi
By Apryl Day & Jirra Lulla
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We’re incredibly proud to share that HOLDING S P A C E has been selected to premiere internationally at @imaginenative Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦 As the world’s largest Indigenous film festival, we are so deeply honoured to represent our community on an international stage. Created on Yorta Yorta Country, HOLDING S P A C E is a love letter to Cummeragunja, Country, our Elders and community. To see something so deeply grounded in home find its place on a global platform is such a special moment for us. This moment belongs to everyone who helped bring HOLDING S P A C E to life. We thank you 🤎 📍 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Toronto, Canada 🗓 Sat, June 6, 11:00 AM 📍 TIFF Lightbox, Cinema 2 📸 @evoisevo 🎵 @jaidanielpyne 🎥 @ryan_andrew_lee Producer / Director: @ksat21 x @aprylday_ x @jirra.lulla by @holdingspace_project
11
5 months ago
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⭐️ GOOD DESIGN AWARD GOLD WINNER ⭐️ Holding Space began as a love letter to Cummeragunja, a thank you to our Elders, a reflection of Country’s memory, and an invitation to sit with the intertwined emotions of grief, resilience, and joy. Through film, photography, and story, we wanted to honour the ways our Elders hold space for us all, for healing, for remembering, and for love. To now have Holding Space recognised as a Gold Winner in the Australian Good Design Awards under the Design Strategy category is deeply meaningful. This award celebrates what we have always known, that Indigenous-led design is an act of care, reciprocity, and continuation. The 2025 Australian Good Design Awards, themed “Design for Better”, honour projects that drive meaningful change for people, planet, and prosperity. Among them was Holding Space, recognised for its contribution to Country centred, community led design. The Jury described Holding Space as: “A design strategy project that centres Elders’ voices to shift how we understand and design with Country. It offers professionals and the public a deeply immersive cultural experience that redefines engagement, cultivates reciprocity, and positions Indigenous knowledge as a leading force in regenerative, Country-centred design. This project raises the bar for design excellence in this important category. This is design research at its best, well done.” Every detail of Holding Space was chosen with intention, to reflect the textures, light, scent, and stillness of Country. The design process was guided by Yorta Yorta values of respect, reciprocity, and care for all living beings. We reused materials, collaborated with community, and created spaces that echoed the river systems of home. This recognition affirms that Country is the first designer, and that our Elders, as knowledge holders, continue to guide how we create, build, and connect. Holding Space reminds us that good design is not only about form or function, but about the ethics of how we listen, to story, to community, and to place. To our Elders, families, collaborators, and community, thank you for helping us carry this vision with heart and intention 🤍 by @holdingspace_project
19
a year ago
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A room held by Country 👣 We brought this to life through an immersive room designed to feel like Country itself, to hold you the way that land does. A gentle soundscape filled the space, echoing the songs of Country - the wind, the river, the birds and animals that remind us of where we come from. The air carried the scent of river gums and soft hints of lemon myrtle. Fresh native flowers filled the room, arranged and refreshed midweek so the space could keep breathing. At the heart of the space sat a curved couch, shaped to mirror the bends of the Dungala. Across the glass windows, we wrapped printed photographs of the Barmah Forest and Cummeragunja. As the sun moved through the day, the light made them glow golden just as it does across the Cummeragunja Sandhills. Every element was intentional, created through deep listening and guided by our Elders stories. Production and graphics @mothdesign Green styling @alchemyorange Furniture hire @harrythehirer AV @austageevents Printing by Rocket Digital Graphic installation @wrap_wave Window photography @evoisevo Photography @harrythehirer Soundscape @ga.ru.wa taken in Queen Victoria Women's Centre by @holdingspace_project
1
a year ago
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Uncle Colin Walker Our Elder, our storyteller, and our guide. His words and wisdom have flowed through and shaped Holding Space. We are forever grateful for Uncle Col’s leadership and his commitment to sharing knowledge with our younger generations. 📸 James Evans @evoisevo by @holdingspace_project
4
a year ago
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Wow, how incredibly proud we are of Holding Space and our community. Holding Space has been a journey of memory, grief, love, and connection that we will be forever grateful for. This project was deeply personal to us. It was born from love for our Elders, our Country, and the stories that have shaped who we are. From the very beginning, we hoped that others would see Cummeragunja the way we do. To witness its beauty, its golden light, its stillness. To feel its truth, its peace, and the care our Elders have nurtured into every part of it. We are endlessly proud that our vision came to life through film, photography, story, and space. Surrounded by the city lights, others were able to experience the softness and strength of home on Wurundjuri Country. Holding Space was not only an exhibition, it was a community effort. Together we fundraised, secured sponsorship, and transformed an old colonial building into something living and gentle, a space that held our stories, our Elders voices, and our collective resilience. To everyone who participated, visited, shared a reflection, or sat quietly within our space - thank you. You helped bring this vision to life. You helped us hold space. To our Elders, our families, and our community, you are the reason Holding Space exists. From Cummeragunja to the Barmah Forest and into the heart of Naarm, we carry you with us always. 📸 @evoisevo by @holdingspace_project
18
a year ago
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For Holding Space, every element from film and photography to furniture was chosen to honour story, memory and Country. Shapes that curve like riverbanks, colours that echo Country from dusk to dawn. Every detail was chosen with intention: to hold memory, to reflect Country, to respect the stories shared by our Elders, and to create spaces that spark reflection, connection and remembering. This is what Indigenous-led design looks like. Holding Space was shaped by Indigenous values of respect, reciprocity and care for all living beings. We made sure the exhibition honoured Country not just in story, but in how it was created - choosing to reuse materials, keep things low-impact and gift back to community. Grateful for the in-kind support from @harrythehirer not only for their Camille, Harper and Pacific collections that sat beautifully alongside our immersive installation, but also for creating the visuals for this reel. Forever thankful to @mothdesign for their in-kind support, helping bring Holding Space to life in every sense from design guidance, to connecting us with suppliers, to holding the process with respect, care and creativity the whole way through. Thank you to @qvwc_melbourne for offering the venue, in-kind support and sponsorship that helped make this exhibition possible. And a special thank you to @alchemyorange for the gorgeous native floral installations that helped ground the space and connection to Country. The flowers you saw at the exhibition are now living on Yorta Yorta Country at Cummeragunja 👣 Song 🎵: Brand New Smile by @dean.bradyy taken in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia by @holdingspace_project
2
a year ago
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Only 2 days left! Holding Space ~ A Love Letter to Cummeragunja closes this Sunday 11 May. This is your final chance to experience our immersive tribute to community, Country and our Elders. Sadly, you won’t be able to see it again - all images will be returned to Cummeragunja, and the film will not be available online. Final weekend: 10–11 May | 9AM–5PM QV Women’s Centre, 210 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne taken in Queen Victoria Women's Centre by @holdingspace_project
0
a year ago
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Moments of Joy ✨ Holding Space Premiering at @qvwc_melbourne until Sunday 11th May. 9am - 5pm / no bookings required taken in Queen Victoria Women's Centre by @holdingspace_project
0
a year ago
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Last Sunday we hosted a special welcoming event for our Cummeragunja community and @yirramboi international delegates - thank you to our community for always showing up and embodying the spirit of Holding Space - we wouldn’t be here without you. Here are some special moments we captured. Holding Space is now showing daily at @qvwc_melbourne from 9am–5pm until May 11. Free entry, no bookings required. 💐💐💐 taken in Queen Victoria Women's Centre by @holdingspace_project
1
a year ago
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Hey everyone, We’re fundraising for cousin Sammy Taylor (37yo), a proud Yorta Yorta woman living with Cerebral Palsy on Cummeragunja with her mum, Aunty Dot (71yo) a beloved Elder who’s spent her life caring for community. Right now, they’re relying on an old borrowed van that’s on its way out. There’s no hospital, no chemist, no supermarket nearby - without a car, they’re cut off. We’re raising funds so Aunty Dot can buy a second-hand Kia Carnival that can be modified for Sammy’s electric wheelchair. NDIS can support the mods after we get the car. This is more than transport, it’s freedom, connection, dignity and quality of life. Help us support our Cummera mob 💞 🔗 Link in bio https://gofund.me/3267189c by @holdingspace_project
0
a year ago
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✨PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT✨ We are so excited to announce the Koorie Youth Summit and the Holding Space Project will be joining up to hold a screening of: HOLDING S P A C E   A love letter to Cummergunja and the Barmah Forest. Land holds memories of grief and joy, it tells our stories of resilience and love.   HOLDING S P A C E is a film, photography, and visual art installation exploring connections to place and the emotions Country evokes. Through visual storytelling Apryl Day and Jirra Lulla say thank you to their Elders, for nurturing connections and passing down knowledge, so future generations always have a place to come home to.  Apryl Day is a Yorta Yorta, Wemba Wemba, and Barapa Barapa woman, creative, and advocate for justice and systemic reform. After the passing of her mother, Aunty Tanya Day, in police custody, she led the campaign to decriminalise public drunkenness in Victoria. As founder of the Dhadjowa Foundation, she supports family-led justice campaigns. Her creative work honours culture and community through storytelling, blending art and activism. Jirra Lulla is a Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri woman from Cummergunja and Narrandera Sandhills. She is the founder of Kalinya Studios, a design and strategy company centring Indigenous knowledge in city-making. With a background in media, arts leadership, and innovation, Jirra works toward a regenerative future where cities are in harmony with Country. ✨✨✨ The screening will be held at Dharnya Centre on the 19th May. Register today and witness the strength of Elder’s, their Country, stories and the incredible work behind HOLDING S P A C E ✨ by @holdingspace_project
1
a year ago
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“A Powerful New Exhibition Honouring Grief, Joy + Country” Thank you @thedesignfiles for a beautiful article about HOLDING S P A C E. Link in bio by @holdingspace_project
9
a year ago
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