Image: Victoria Park, Camperdown (26 January 2023) Yabun Festival returns this year full of energy. The festival celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. (Photo by Joseph Mayers/City of Sydney)
by GRACE JOHNSON
City of Sydney has upped its support for this year’s Yabun Festival on Friday 26 January, a day-long community celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
Founded in 2001, the festival began as a continuation of the very first Survival Day events during the 1990s, which about celebrating the survival and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures.
Yabun means ‘music to a beat’ in the Sydney Aboriginal language.
This year’s event is supported by a $190,000 grant from City of Sydney and will take place at Victoria Park, Broadway. The council is also offering free entry to the park’s pool for festivalgoers on the day.
“The Yabun Festival is more than just a gathering. It’s a living testament to the enduring strength and vibrancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures,” Gadigal Information Service chair Dallas Wellington said.“This year’s theme, ‘Surviving, Guiding, Thriving’, celebrates the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.”
“We warmly invite people from all backgrounds to join us in celebrating the world’s oldest living cultures at this unique event.”
On the line-up are both established and emerging artists, including Emily Wurramara, Frank Yamma, Tasman Keith, Fred Leone and Velvet Trip.
Dance performances will take place at the Corroboree Ground featuring groups from across Sydney and NSW, including Yangkay, Jannawi Dance Clan, Mui Mui Bumer Gedlam, Wagana Aboriginal Dancers and Brolga Dance Academy.
The Speak Out tent will also host conversations about crucial issues that Aboriginal communities face today.
“The Yabun Festival honours the survival of the world’s oldest living culture. It is a day of culture, performance and truth telling,” Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said.
“In my time as Lord Mayor I have been really pleased to watch crowds at Yabun Festival grow, and with it our community’s understanding of resistance and mourning. The City of Sydney is proud to support this important event and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.”
