DATES: 12 September – 24 October, 2026

TIME: 10am – 4pm

LOCATION: Tharwa Community Hall (North St, Tharwa ACT 2620)

COST: $100 for 5 sessions

Details

Tuggeranong Art Centre’s new community art program, Weaving Stories, Gathering Invisible Lines, brings together First Nations knowledge, cultural exchange and contemporary art practice through a series of workshops led by acclaimed First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) artists.

Running across September and October, at Tharwa Community Hall, this five-part program invites participants to connect with Country through storytelling, eco-dyeing, creative writing and mixed media artmaking, culminating in an exhibition at Tuggeranong Arts Centre in 2027.

Beginning with an on-Country gathering led by Pitta Pitta Wangkamahdla woman and cultural facilitator Ronnie Jordan, participants will learn about Indigenous knowledge systems and culturally appropriate, sustainable ways of gathering native plants and natural materials.

Those materials will then be transformed into natural dyes during a hands-on workshop with Wiradjuri artist and designer Rechelle Turner, before participants explore storytelling through poetry and prose with Wiradjuri writer, filmmaker and NITV Head of Commissions Marissa McDowell.

The final workshops, led by Ecuadorian-born multidisciplinary artist Mariana del Castillo, will see participants combine textiles, writing and collected materials into artist books and mixed media artworks that reflect their experience of being on Country and the cultural exchange fostered throughout the program.

The completed works will be exhibited at Tuggeranong Arts Centre in 2027.

Weaving Stories, Gathering Invisible Lines is an opportunity for people from different cultural backgrounds to come together through creative practice, learn from First Nations knowledge, and develop meaningful connections with Country, community and each other.

Each workshop builds on the last, encouraging participants to share stories, explore sustainable artmaking techniques and create work that reflects their own experiences.

The program brings together four highly respected artists whose practices span cultural facilitation, textiles, writing, sculpture and community arts.

Ronnie Jordan is a Pitta Pitta Wangkamahdla woman whose work centres on cultural sharing, weaving and community wellbeing. Rechelle Turner is a proud Wiradjuri artist, educator and co-founder of First Nations fashion label Corella & Crow. Marissa McDowell is a Wiradjuri writer, filmmaker and Head of Commissions at NITV with an extensive career in First Nations storytelling. Mariana del Castillo is an Ecuadorian-born multidisciplinary artist whose work explores identity, memory and relationships with Country through sculpture and installation.

The workshop series celebrates the role of creativity as a pathway for connection, cultural understanding and shared learning, while creating a lasting legacy through the exhibition of participants’ works. It is supported by Regional Arts Australia.

Program

On-Country Gathering – Saturday 12 September, 10am – 4pm

Led by First Nations facilitator Ronnie Jordan, in this on-Country gathering and storytelling session, participants will learn about Indigenous knowledge systems, including culturally appropriate and sustainable methods of collecting native plants and materials.

Eco-Dyeing Workshop – Saturday 10 October, 10am – 4pm

Use collected materials in a guided eco-dyeing workshop with Wiradjuri textile artist and designer Rechelle Turner. Create natural dyes and apply them to fabrics and paper. The process of preparing and cooking dye baths will encourage storytelling and the sharing.

Creative Writing – Sunday 11 October, 10am – 4pm

Led by Marissa McDowell, reflect on your experiences through creative writing. Using poetry and prose, explore storytelling as a tool for self-expression, connection, and reflection, with the option to incorporate their writing into their final artworks.

Visual Art Making – Saturday 17 October & 24 October, 10am – 4pm

In the final two workshops, participants will bring together their writing, textiles, and paper to create resolved works. Led by Ecuadorian-born mixed media artist and sculptor Mariana del Castillo, participants will investigate techniques such as stitching, collage, assemblage, and bookbinding, to create artist books and other art pieces that reflect their experience of being on Country and insights gained through cultural exchange.

Exhibition Outcome – 2027

Completed works will be exhibited at Tuggeranong Arts Centre in 2027.

About the Artists

Marissa McDowell is a Wiradjuri woman, born in Cowra, NSW. She joined NITV in March, 2021 as Commissioning Editor, working on the development and delivery of diverse First Nations stories. She was appointed Head of Commissions for NITV in October 2022. Throughout her career, she has worked with First Nations communities telling their stories through documentary film making, photography and writing. Her documentaries have been screened on SBS/NITV, poetry published through USMOB Writing and photographs displayed at PhotoAcces and the Sydney Living Museum. She has a Master of Arts Screen Business and Leadership from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) a Bachelor of Arts Honours from the University of Canberra (UC) and is currently undertaking her Graduate Certificate in Wiradjuri Language, Culture and Heritage at Charles Sturt University.

Ronnie Jordan is a Pitta Pitta Wangkamahdla woman and owner of ‘Culture on the Move’, a creative arts and cultural business based near Canberra ACT. Ronnie shares culture from childcare centres up to Government agencies, she is a weaver, painter and cultural facilitator with a vision for women and men to feel strong, connected and empowered. With traditional weaving techniques such as twining and coiling, Ronnie’s inspiration comes from learning and sharing with other Women and Men, visiting other Aboriginal Countries, memories, stories and community and cultural practices. Ronnie specialises in contemporary Aboriginal artworks using natural fibres, on canvas, murals and group workshops. She has been commissioned to create artworks for many government, non-government and community organisations as well as supporting fundraising initiatives. After holding multiple workshops at Koskela in Sydney Ronnie had the opportunity to be featured in the National House and Garden magazine in August 2018. Ronnie has been involved in many projects aimed at improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s social and emotional wellbeing, including with the Alexander Maconochie Centre, the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm and Bimberi youth detention centre. Ronnie also helps facilitate cultural camps through First Hand Solutions who is in partnership with World Vision. These programs have been beneficial to the participants as a strong source of cultural healing. 

Rechelle Turner is a proud Wiradjuri woman, artist, educator and designer based on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra. Her creative practice spans weaving, visual arts, jewellery and cultural design, and is grounded in relationships with Ngurambang (Country), story and the continuation of cultural knowledge through making. Turner is the co-founder of First Nations fashion label Corella & Crow, where she works collaboratively to develop collections that bring together slow fashion, upcycled textiles and hand processes. Alongside her artistic practice she works in education and cultural leadership supporting language revitalisation and culturally grounded learning. In 2026, Turner and Daley were recipients of the Creative Australia Flourish Fund supporting their textile and fashion practice.

Mariana del Castillo lives and works in Ngambri/Ngunnawal land. She is an Ecuadorian-born, Australian multidisciplinary Contemporary artist. When constructing her sculptures and installations, Mariana primarily uses reclaimed materials that come saturated with meaning.  She creates her allegorical narratives by appropriating and transforming symbols and objects. Her tableaux address and question the human condition and the experience of inhabiting the body. This can be seductive and repulsive at the same time. Most recently Mariana’s works move away from the internal landscape of her personal history out into the external landscape of country. Mariana graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) from the Australian National University, School of Art in 1989. She has exhibited widely since graduating and her works are in many collections including : 2024 ACT Legislative Assembly, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Australian National University, The Parliamentary Group, KDN Group, ACT NRS Group, Mallesons Stephen & Jaques, Barristers and Solicitors, ACT and more. Mariana is currently a Visual arts mentor for the University of Canberra Australian Defence Force Arts for Recovery program and she convenes the Migrant Womens Group, for Gungahlin Arts.