Australia Council for the Arts Arts and Disability Mentorship Program
Annie Moors Artist Residency – Milingimbi Arts & Culture Centre
Annie Moors at work in the studio at Milingimbi Arts Culture Centre. Australia Council for the Arts, Arts and Disability Mentorship Program. Photo: Eve Pawlik 
Annie Moors, Hollow Log (work in progress), 2021 Annie is part of the Garrawurra family of the Liya-gawumirr clan through her mother Nancy’s side. She is of Dhuwa moiety. Garrawurra country travels from Elcho Island to Milingimbi and surrounding islands. It is coastal country, following the journey of the Djan’kawu sisters who travelled from the east. The sisters travelled to Garrawurra country and created many sacred waterholes. Outstations like Garriyak and Djiliwirri are significant for Garrawurra people as part of that Dreaming. Clan colours are red, white and yellow ochre, designs show the body paint striped design seen on women. 
Mentorship Session in Progress, learning about ochre. Pictured: Annie Moors (left), and two of her mentors; Helen Ganalmirriwuy Garrawurra, (right) and Helen Milmindjarrk, who are both senior Liya-gawumirr artists. During her residency Annie received mentorship from senior artists who have the right clan/ kinship relationship to Annie to instruct her in depicting cultural knowledge and how to prepare traditional materials. 
Left & Right: Annie Moors in the studio at Milingimbi Arts and Culture Centre being painted up by Helen Milmindjarrk and Abigail Mundjala for the funeral ceremony of her Wawa (brother). Photo: Eve Pawlik
Annie Moors – Garrawurra family of the Liya-gawumirr clan. Dhuwa moiety – Yurrwi / Milingimbi
Totem: black cockatoo
Annie Moors is a Yurrwi/Milingimbi woman and emerging visual artist based in Darwin. Much of Annie’s artistic practice and subject matter is related to her Yolngu culture, family and country of Yurrwi/Milingimbi in North East Arnhem Land. This residency was centred around a mentorship program to support Annie’s professional development through connection to country, culture and family. Annie took part in a studio-based mentorship program at Milingimbi Arts & Culture Centre, under the supervision of senior artists:
Helen Milminydjarrk (lead mentor) LINK
Helen Ganalmirriwuy (sister) LINK
Margarent Rarru (sister)
Susan Balbunga LINK
Abigail Mundjala LINK
This mentorship program gave Annie an incredibly special immersive experience enabling her to access artistic practices specific to her kinship, clan, totems and country, including;
- Significance of ceremony, Dreaming stories, and where designs(miny’tji) and motifs specific to the Garrawurra family of the Liya-gawumirr clan come from
- Use of body paint for funerals or ceremony
- Hollow log (dupun) oyster and cuttlefish designs
- Preparation of Pandanus (gungu) for weaving
- Bush trip to Rocky Point to collect red yellow, red & white ochres (Ratjpa, Miku, Buthalak), specific to the Garrawurra family of the Liya-gawumirr clan
- Collecting the Stringybark used for hollow log (Gadayka)
- Kinship relationships (gurrutu)
- Weaving Coil baskets (bathi) from pandanus
- Body paint stripes (djirrididi)
- Mother / child / cultural caretaker (djuŋgaya)
- Grandparent / grandchild (märi / gutharra)
- Sister / brother (yapa / wäwa)
- Närra (cleansing ceremony time)
The residency program was held at Milingimbi Arts & Culture Centre 17 -27 May 2021. Proudly supported by; The Australia Council for the Arts. This project was facilitated in partnership with Milingimbi Arts and Culture, Arts Access Darwin/ Darwin Community Arts and Life Without Barriers.
Image: Dion Beasley, Winner 2018,The Michele Castagna individual artist with disability award
