FEMALE students from Boggabilla Central School proudly opened their unique exhibition, Looking Back, Looking Forward, at Moree’s Yaama Ganu Gallery on Thursday in collaboration with Bank Art Museum Moree.
Looking Back, Looking Forward is part of Bamba Miyay, a program aimed at building confidence, pride, cultural connections and success for future Gomeroi female leaders.
Boggabilla Central School teacher, Laura Peisley, said the educational pathways program was created by the NSW Department of Education.
“It’s all about aspiration-building and career-building, and getting our students meaningful, post-school vocational pathways,” Mrs Peisley said.
“One of the initiatives under the EPP is innovating careers education. At Boggabilla Central School, we’ve uncovered the need for our girls to just get that little bit of confidence-building, somewhere safe to be and somewhere to belong, and somewhere they can connect with culture, and grow pride for their culture,” she said.
The newly established program enabled the students from Year 5 to Year 12 to learn from – and learn with – aunties at Euraba Aboriginal Paper Company, an indigenous women’s culture and economic development project, and one of Boggabilla’s hidden gems.
Euraba, established in 1998, is the first indigenous, handmade production paper mill in Australia and works in closely with Goondiwindi cotton-grower, Sam Coulton
Mr Coulton also owns Goondiwindi Cotton, a homegrown clothing brand. Cotton rag offcuts from Goondiwindi Cotton go to the Euraba paper mill.
“We had about 12 students involved in the workshops and we want them to know there’s a pathway right there in their little town they can utilise,” Mrs Peisley said
Students learn pulp paper-making crafts as well as how to create artworks to encourage creativity to tell community stories.
Students also learn from original members of Euraba and their daughters, who enjoy passing on their skills, culture and legacy to the next generation of women.
Mrs Peisley and her husband Jed, the Boggabilla Central School principal, relocated from Kempsey to Boggabilla earlier this year.
Euraba Aboriginal Paper Company’s Paul West said their move to the town was a blessing.
“The big story for us this year is that Jed and Laura have allowed the female students to visit Euraba,” Mr West said.
“For years, we’ve wanted the girls from the school to come down. It didn’t happen for all sorts of reasons, but it’s happened this year and we have potentially a new generation of paper-makers and artists who will graduate from high school and come and work at Euraba.
“That’s very exciting for us. None of us are getting younger, and we have this new generation coming through,” he said
One of the students, 16-year-old Sieanna Craigie, said participating in the program opened new doors and created opportunities.
“I discovered my sense of culture, that I didn’t even know was there, and when we were taken to Euraba, I just felt like I was home,” Ms Craigie said.
“This (exhibition) is really exciting, nerve-wracking even, to have our work displayed like this,” she smiled.
Boggabilla Central School’s senior community engagement leader, Carl McGrady, hopes the program will create the next generation of local artists.
“Some of the girls were disengaging so we thought, why not look at the paper mill (Euraba), which was looking for a resurgence,” Mr McGrady said.
“I’m hoping this will ultimately be the next generation of Euraba paper artists. What’s happening is brilliant. We’ve targeted some of the girls at school who have become disengaged, and this is a way to bring them back on track.
“It’s outside the normal school roles and activities. The girls are involved off-site at Euraba and they love it, and you can see that by the artworks and products they’ve produced.
“This gives the students purpose, and I’m really chuffed to be a part of it,” Mr McGrady said.
Bank Art Museum Moree exhibitions officer, Sarah Vickerman, said the Euraba artists have been BAMM’s artists-in-residence for 2024.
“We’ve supported them throughout the year and there’s also been a series of workshops conducted in October and November at Euraba, which the Boggabilla Central School students have attended,” Mrs Vickerman said.
“We hold quite a few Euraba works in our BAMM collection and, as part of supporting them as our artists-in-residence, we’ve worked with Toby Osmond here at Yaama Ganu Gallery and Euraba to hold this exhibition,” she said.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
When: Opened Thursday, December 5
Where: Yaama Ganu Gallery at 211 Balo Street, Moree
About: Exhibition opening where approximately one-fifth of artworks are from students under the Educational Pathways Program.
