2025 NAIDOC Week Activities
National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year, to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
2025 marks a powerful milestone of 50 years honouring and elevating Indigenous voices, culture and resilience. The 2025 theme 'The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy', celebrates not only the achievements of the past but the bright future ahead, empowered by the strength of our young leaders, the vision of our communities, and the legacy of the ancestors.
NRCG will be hosting a variety of exhibitions and events during NAIDOC week in the Gallery and Ignite Studios, celebrating local Nyangbal arts and culture.
Gariima Elders Group Exhibition | 9 - 13 July
A pop-up exhibition at Ignite Studios by local Ballina CPL Gariima Elders Group for NAIDOC Week, representing themes of family, cultural connections, colours of country, nature, gathering, ceremony and homeland, and using a combination of natural ochres and other materials sourced on Bundjalung Country.
Gariima means “respect” in the Bundjalung language. This group was formed in 2023 by disability support provider Ballina CPL (Choice, Passion, Life), and meets weekly to connect, create, and keep culture strong.
The Gariima Elders are:
Aunty Faye Anderson, Uncle Angus Binge, Aunty Millie Cameron, Aunty Dianne Manton, Uncle Clifford Copeland, Aunty Alice Roberts, Uncle Adrian Davies, Aunty Shirley Stevenson, Uncle Ivan James (Uncle Doc), Uncle Graham Marlowe, and Uncle Amos Roberts
Where: Ignite Studios - 60 Crane Street Ballina
Date: Wed 9 - Sun 13 July 2025
Time: 10am - 2pm Wed - Fri | 10am - 1pm Sat - Sun
Cost: Free to attend, no bookings required
NAIDOC Community Mural Painting with Sonya Breckenridge | 11 July
Join Bundjalung/Dunghutti lead artist Sonya Breckenridge on Friday 11 July from 10am - 2pm to paint a community mural in the grounds of Ignite Studios in celebration of NAIDOC week. Participation is free, and all are welcome. Tools and materials provided. Wear clothes that can get messy!
Where: Ignite Studios - 60 Crane Street Ballina
Date: Fri 11 July 2025
Time: 10am - 2pm
Age: Open to all
Cost: Free to attend, no bookings required
Drop-in Weaving Circle with Jugan Dandii | 11 July
Aunty Tania Marlowe and Deb Cole from Jugan Dandii will be weaving from 10am - 2pm on the lawns at Ignite Studios. Join them for a yarn, and to learn natural fibre weaving with local materials. Open to all and free to attend. Kids welcome.
Where: Ignite Studios - 60 Crane Street Ballina
Date: Fri 11 July 2025
Time: 10am - 2pm
Age: Open to all
Cost: Free to attend, no bookings required
For more information visit nrcgballina.com.au or contact the Gallery on 02 6681 0530.
Ignite Studios is a wheelchair accessible venue. Please contact us ahead of time if you have accessibility needs you would like us to be aware of.
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Images: Weaving Circle at Ignite Studios, 2024, photo by Kate Holmes; Work by Gariima Elders Group 2025, photo by Ballina CPL; Sonya Breckenridge, "Staying Connected", 2024; Jugan Dandii weaving Workshop at Ignite, 2023, photo by Elise Derwin