Badu Gili Lights Up Opera House Sails With A Canvas Of First Nations Stories
Image: Projection of Mervyn Street's painting as part of Badu Gili: Story Keepers at Sydney Opera House. Supplied by: Biennale of Sydney. Photo Credits: Mark Pokorny.
From 17 December, the Sydney Opera House sails will host Badu Gili: Story Keepers, a projection bringing First Nations storytelling from across the globe into the heart of Sydney Harbour.
Running for six minutes each evening, Story Keepers is the latest chapter in the Opera House’s free, ongoing Badu Gili series. This time, it pairs two visual artists who have never shared a stage—much less a skyline: Gooniyandi elder Mervyn Street from the Kimberley and Kinngait Inuk storyteller and custodian Ningiukulu Teevee from Canada’s Arctic.
A visual journey across continents at Sydney Opera House
Their work lights up the Eastern Bennelong sails in a vivid exchange, turning the iconic harbour into a public canvas for shared cultural memory.
The projection opens in the Kimberley, on Gooniyandi Country. Street’s paintings move from dusk to dawn through dust, fire and wind, shaped by a lifetime as a stockman, author, and, cultural preservation advocate.
His work reflects family history, labour and the ongoing responsibility of keeping Gooniyandi life and language burning bright on Country.
Seeing his work projected onto one of the city’s landmarks has taken him by surprise. “It’s been a long journey for my art,” Street said. “Now I can’t believe I’m doing this with the Opera House. I’m giving my story to the people.”
The second half of Story Keepers shifts dramatically in tone and temperature. The sails cool as Teevee’s bold drawings unfold against a world of ice and snow. Raven and Owl bring an Inuit legend to life, exploring creativity, connection, and the balance of pride and patience.
“I first heard it in school from an Elder whose storytelling captured my imagination,” Teevee said. Through animation, her work flows between Inuit tradition and contemporary art, celebrating memories and voices that guide her creative journey.
Although both artists come from opposing environments, the connection between them is clear. Together, they are storytellers, wielding knowledge and passing it on through art that speaks across generations.
Sydney-based creative agency Vandal has animated the artworks, letting each artist’s visual language transition seamlessly from Kimberley heat to the Arctic stillness, with a carefully considered rhythm.
Art for all to look up to and experience at Badu Gili: Story Keepers
Curated by Bruce Johnson McLean, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain’s First Nations Curatorial Fellow, Story Keepers marks the third year of a partnership between the Opera House, the Biennale of Sydney and the Fondation Cartier.
The collaboration positions Badu Gili as one of the city’s most accessible public art programs, open to anyone willing to look up at the harbour skyline—no tickets or bookings required.
As the sun sets, the Opera House stops being just a landmark for a few minutes each night. It becomes a space for memory and connection, where ancestry and imagination thrive, reminding Sydney, inviting Sydney to see the city in a new light.
Badu Gili: Story Keepers is on till November 2026 at Sydney Opera House.
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