Great art from older aboriginal women made in Freo

A group of older aboriginal women have been meeting at Hilton undertaking an art project organised by the City of Freo with a grant from the office of seniors.

There were a number of great outcomes – a wonderful artwork (see below) that will be displayed at Hilton Community Centre, the women provided feedback to the officer about the needs of older aboriginal people in Fremantle which helps inform Freo’s service provision.

The great news is that the group is going to continue to meet as they enjoyed the process so much. These women had very little practical art experience yet under the guide of Neta produced a very lovely artwork for our walls at Hilton.

A local Aboriginal Artist, Neta Knapp was engaged to run the painting workshops. In total 18 people attended the workshops, with a core group of 3 people regularly attending each workshop.  The group spent five weeks learning art techniques and working on small paintings.  In week five the group decided to paint a mural which evolved into a women’s journey through Fremantle.  The mural depicts the scattering of camps with fires burning brightly which represents the need of the warmth of home and the female role within this.