Tjaabi - Flood Country

Presented by Big HArt with support from Wyndham City Arts & Culture

Join us for this one-off presentation of cultural exchange at the Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Centre. 

Tjaabi–Flood Country is a contemporary intercultural music and theatre performance led by Ngarluma man Patrick Churnside

Ten years in the making in the Pilbara, Tjaabi–Flood Country captures the urgencies of the 21st Century as the globe warms and the climate changes. Patrick captures the many cultural and ecological pressures facing Aboriginal people in places like the Pilbara in the face of ever-increasing pressures for new minerals, rare earth, and more ore. He does so through breathtaking music, profoundly personal narrative, and humour that cuts to the bone.

Importantly, this work is an intercultural sharing, a collaboration between many, reflecting a hopeful future of cultural exchange and dialogue, with Patrick’s story at the centre. This immersive theatre work, using music, spoken word, animation, and tjaabi, tells the story of growing up in the Pilbara, the lineage of cultural knowledge, the contemporary relevance of indigenous ecologies, working on country, the resource sector, and the power of Ngarluma language in capturing cultural knowledges and lived experience.

Tjaabi–Flood Country is scored and performed with composer and musician Aaron Hopper, whose emotive, nuanced, and intelligent work seeks to grow out of traditional Pilbara melody and motif. This creates a grounded space for Patrick’s own story to emerge. Aaron and his family lived and worked in the Pilbara for three years, immersing themselves in cultural exchange which has allowed this musical collaboration to grow.

6pm – Event starts with food; catering provided

6:30pm – Welcome to Country

7pm – Tjaabi: Flood Country performance commences

8pm – Finish

All welcome to this free event  – bookings are essential though.