Elders, community leaders, art lovers and members of the general public gathered with open hearts and minds at the Museum of the Goldfields, for the opening of Ngaluk Waangkiny’s tour to Kalgoorlie. 

Meaning "Us Talking", Ngaluk Waangkiny is a powerful truth-telling exhibition that celebrates the legacies of ten Elders from Boorloo (Perth), laying bare their stories so that future generations are aware of Australia’s often-hidden Black history.

The Brownley Gospel Singers set the tone for the exhibition's opening night with their beautiful harmonies – what a joy! It was the perfect way to introduce our VIP guest, Uncle Ben Taylor Cueirmara.

Uncle Ben is one of the Elders featured in the exhibition and he has connections to the Goldfields so he was a bit of a celebrity while he was in town. Everywhere we went, someone would sing out “Uncle Ben!”

Uncle Ben did the official opening honours and also passed on the baton on to the next group of ten Elders who will share their life stories to create a similar project.

Through audio and photography, Legacies Kalgoorlie will shine a light on the untold histories of the Goldfields and result in another exhibition at the Museum.

CAN is delighted to have local artist and media professional Debbie Carmody as the Legacies project creative producer alongside Kalgoorlie based curator and project manager Monica Dvorak.

Rounding off this dream team is Noongar  photographer Hugh Sando who will shoot a series of portraits of each Elder for the exhibition next year.

Local participant Dallas McClean said she couldn’t wait to see her face up on the truth-telling wall. We can't wait to get started!

This beautiful event would not have been possible without our fabulous partners, Art On The Move and Museum of the Goldfields - thank you so much!

And a HUGE thank you to the people of Kalgoorlie for making this event so special.

These photos of the opening were taken by Mellen Burns. Enjoy!