First Nations exhibition highlights city’s NAIDOC celebrations

Nationally significant First Nations art and cultural experiences are set to take centre stage in the northern suburbs of Perth, with the City of Joondalup bringing a major ACMI touring exhibition to WA.

As part of the City’s 2026 NAIDOC celebrations, Two Girls From Amoonguna will make its Perth debut at the Joondalup Contemporary Art Gallery, accompanied by a six-week program of workshops and film events running from July 7 to August 15.

The exhibition features new work by Arrernte and Southern Luritja artist Sally M Nangala Mulda and Western Arrarnta artist Marlene Rubuntja, with a centrepiece animated work created in collaboration with Ludo Studio, the Emmy-Award-winning production company behind hit television series Bluey.

Alongside the exhibition, this year’s NAIDOC celebrations include a series of hands-on workshops at Joondalup Contemporary Art Gallery and a six-week First Nations film series at Hoyts Joondalup.

Together they mark this year’s national theme, 50 Years of Deadly, celebrating 50 years of NAIDOC and recognising the resilience, achievements and cultural pride of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.

Joondalup Mayor Daniel Kingston said the program reflected the City’s commitment to creating meaningful and accessible cultural experiences for the whole community.

“The City of Joondalup is proud to host Two Girls From Amoonguna and to bring this extraordinary exhibition to Perth audiences for the very first time,” Mayor Kingston said.

“NAIDOC Week is a moment to celebrate the resilience, creativity and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and this year’s program does exactly that.

“From an acclaimed ACMI touring exhibition to an exciting film program and hands-on workshops, the City has created a program that we hope will welcome and inspire our entire community.”

Encompassing video, bush-dyed and hand-sewn soft sculptures and observationalist paintings, Two Girls From Amoonguna recounts the intertwining stories of friendship and resilience between two artists from the Central Desert community of Mparntwe (Alice Springs).

The exhibition centrepiece, Arrkutja Tharra, Kungka Kutjara, Two Girls, delves into the reality of First Peoples’ experiences in Central Australia, chronicling the artists’ successes and struggles with honesty, warmth and humour.

Exhibition curator Jenna Rain Warwick (Luritja) said: “Two Girls from Amoonguna is an exhibition I’m extremely proud to have curated.

“Sally M Nangala Mulda and Marlene Rubuntja are accomplished artists and seeing their work brought to life by Ludo was remarkable.

“Their work speaks to the activist spirit that First People artists hold within them.”

ACMI Director and CEO Seb Chan said the exhibition was an opportunity to bring the work of these artists to wider national audiences.

“Two Girls from Amoonguna, including the animated video work and ACMI + Artbank Commission Arrkutja Tharra, Kungka Kutjara, Two Girls, alongside paintings and sculptures, spotlights the creativity of Central Desert artists Marlene Rubuntja and Sally M Nangala Mulda,” he said.

“ACMI is proud to bring the work of these two Central Desert artists to venues around Australia to ensure that their art reaches wider national audiences.”

Other NAIDOC program highlights include a series of Saturday workshops at Joondalup Contemporary Art Gallery, offering hands-on cultural experiences from basket weaving and Aboriginal art to bush flower essence making and family-friendly bush animal weaving for children.

Images: Sally M Nangala Mulda and Marlene Rubuntja.