Boolarng Nangamai Aboriginal Art + Culture Studio

Beside the native plant nursery, outside the Boolarng Nangamai studio (L-R): M&G NSW Manager, Aboriginal Sector Development Steve Miller with artists Bonny Brennan, Deb Callaghan and Codie Werth.

With its roller door open, Boolarng Nangamai Aboriginal Art + Culture Studio is a burst of colour at the end of a quiet industrial estate in Gerringong on the NSW South Coast.

Boolarng Nangamai (Boolarng = Together (Biripi language group) Nangamai = Dreaming ( Sydney Dhawaral language group) is an Aboriginal artists collective that is both cultural enterprise and not-for-profit. With some successes to date, it is a model that is attracting attention.

The nine core artists met while studying for their Advanced Visual Arts Diploma at West Wollongong TAFE in 1995. TAFE Visual Arts teacher and fellow artist Kelli Ryan saw the potential in the group both as artists and a bonded group that could survive and work together beyond the confines of coursework.

So much did she believe in them that she purchased some land with a small inheritance and on the advice of Roy Boy Stewart. The land straddles a part of the Union Creek and the reeds that grow wild there have been used by Koories for traditional implement making for thousands of years.

With the team’s commitment, Kelli borrowed to built the industrial sheds and the other sections are now leased to other businesses.

Boolarng’s strength as a community enterprise is the commitment of its artists. It’s strength as a cultural enterprise is the diversity of work they produce.

The splashes of bright colours you see as you approach the workshop reveal themselves as art and craft produce – paintings, wood carving sculptures, poker work, cane and woven sculptures made from the dried and prepared plant life on site, even beanies and scarves.

The latest addition is a series of cards from artist’s works, produced in conjunction with the Red Cockatoo artists collective in the Blue Mountains.

Other activities such as cultural awareness training and cross-cultural workshops in Australia and overseas have enhanced Boolarng Nangamai’s reputation.

Even so, the studio still struggles through periods without paid staff. When the orders come in, the studio is abuzz and the numbers swell. In quieter times artists drop in to work on their own projects or catch up on the news and latest developments.

Boolarng Nangamai Aboriginal Corporation also has DGR status and actively seeks philanthropic support in making a difference for NSW Aboriginal arts and crafts.

Website: http://www.boolarng-nangamai.com/

Unit 5/ 9 Bergin Street GERRINGONG N.S.W. 2534

Ph: (+61 2) 0414 322 142

If driving along the Princes Highway, take the second Gerringong turn off (if coming from the north) or take the first exit (from the south) into Belinda Street. This will take you under the railway bridge and towards the pub on the right hand side.

Turn left directly opposite the pub into Victoria Street and follow it until you cross the creek. Turn left into Bergin Street and we are immediately on your left. Boolarng Nangamai in the end studio within a big complex of five.

Steve Miller