A unique cultural exchange is taking place between Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people of the Pilbara in Western Australia, Dharawal people of the New South Wales south coast, and young people from Solomon Islands and Samoa. This exchange will be taking place from 29 July – 5 August 2026, with further exchange activity planned August – October 2026.

The project and events are predicated on the sharing of culture and the co-creation of story through performance. Whilst this deep and careful work will happen mainly in private spaces, there will be several key events across locations where the public is welcomed in, to witness and share.

Patrick Churnside, a Ngarluma songman, carries and shares tjaabi, a unique song form from the Pilbara composed of crisp poetic language, set to melodies from across the region, capturing stories, history, language and lived experience. He has been sharing this songform and connected stories through different artistic iterations, nationally, for over a decade. This exchange brings Ngarluma culture and Pacific communities together through performance, workshops, and intergenerational cultural sharing.

Members of Dreamcast Theatre, the Solomon Islands’ leading arts organisation, are travelling to Ieramugadu/Roebourne, on Ngarluma Country, for a one-week residency of cultural exchange, storytelling and creative workshops. The program is a continuation of the legacy of Ngarluma cultural leader Patrick Churnside, whose teachings are carried by the next generation, including knowledge and language holder Samantha Walker and young cultural ambassadors Isaac and Kenton Guinness.

During the residency, Dreamcast delegates take part in cultural exchange workshops on Country and join two public celebrations: Essence, marking 15 years of creative work in Roebourne, and Tjaabi: Flood Country, a contemporary intercultural music and theatre performance led by Patrick Churnside at the Cossack Art Awards. Ten years in the making, Tjaabi: Flood Country speaks to the cultural and ecological pressures facing Aboriginal people in the Pilbara through music, personal narrative and humour.

The exchange then travels to the Pacific: Gammea-Dharawal man Jacob Morris, from the south coast of New South Wales, visits Honiara from 17 to 23 August 2026 for a cultural exchange, sharing song, dance and story with Solomon Islands communities. The visit culminates in a free public sharing and performance at Dreamcast Theatre on 21 August. Big hART will then travel on to Apia in Samoa for an exchange with early childhood teachers, schools and young people.

Led by First Nations people and supported by Big hART, Australia’s leading arts for social change organisation, the exchange builds cultural understanding, strengthens relationships, and creates two-way skill development between arts organisations.

Partners: Big hART, Dreamcast Theatre Solomon Islands and SamoaGEM.

More information
Big hART

Supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program.