Funding supports successful cultural and arts alliance in Kimberley
More than $1 million in additional funding over 4 years has been approved for the successful Wirnan Cultural Engagement and Learning Project involving 6 art centres in the Kimberley.
Funding of $258,000 will be provided each year through the Arts Strategic Initiative managed by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC).
Waringarri Aboriginal Arts has successfully led the project which also includes Warmun Art, Kira Kiro Artists, Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency, Mowanjum Art and Culture Centre, and Warlayirti Artists.
These centres form the Kimberley Aboriginal Artists alliance (KAA), allowing administration to be managed centrally while enabling each art centre to design a program tailored to local needs.
The project supports the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal people through involvement in the arts and has been identified as a key project by the Kimberley Aboriginal Regional Governance Group within the Kimberley Aboriginal Youth Wellbeing Strategy.
The project had been funded by the WA Primary Health Alliance as a part of the National Suicide prevention Trial and was then funded by DLGSC for the first year of a 5-year program.
KAA centres work across a range of disciplines which include both contemporary and traditional arts, as well as performance practice aimed at maintaining and strengthening cultural skills and knowledge for future generations.
Participants have been able to take part in trips to country, skills workshops, mentoring, cultural events and creative projects.