Culture Centre

The Warlayirti Culture Centre is a beautiful building inspired by the escarpment country around Wirrimanu (Balgo) and is located adjacent to the Warlayirti Art Centre. Locally made cultural objects, bush foods and bush medicines, as well as a collection of photos showing life in Balgo since it first began as a Catholic mission, are all displayed in the Centre. The Culture Centre is a place for teaching and sharing the culture of the Kutjungka region.

The Culture Centre was built in 2001 with a grant from the Centenary of Federation Fund. In the months leading up to the opening community members completed mosaics and painted murals in and around the building. They also made cultural objects and collected bush food and medicines to display. In July 2001 people from all over the Kutjungka region and beyond came together for the opening.  

 

We had lots of people coming and sharing culture, bringing it together. We had a party and band. Different communities came to dance with the Balgo mob. They painted up and sang those special old songs. Young kids joined in to dance with the old people.

Larissa Kingsley

Between 2001 and 2003 Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation funded the limited operation of the Culture Centre. In early 2003 the Warlayirti Artists Committee and staff held a series of sessions to plan the further development of the Culture Centre. This planning formed the basis of a submission to the Kimberley Sustainable Regions Program for three years of operational funding for the Centre. The Teaching Kids, Teaching Tourists, Sharing Culture submission was successful and enabled the Culture Centre to re-open in September 2004 after having been closed for 12 months.