Public artwork by Dharawal and Yuin artist Alison Page commissioned

A major new permanent public artwork by Dharawal and Yuin artist Alison Page, developed in consultation with Sydney coastal Aboriginal women, has been commissioned by Lendlease. The work will be unveiled outside of the Waldorf Astoria Sydney hotel at Circular Quay, the first of its kind in Australia.

Titled Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala (Black Women Rising) the ambitious new 5.5m high cast bronze sculpture sees an Aboriginal woman rising powerfully from a body of water. Part woman and part whale, the figure represents the deep connection Aboriginal people have to Country and serves as an invitation for all women and all people to connect with her strength and resilience.

Artist Alison Page said: “Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala (Black Women Rising) emerges from the water below the city, a place of spiritual potency for Dharawal women. She is the mixing of the salt water and the fresh water, her energy and essence lives within the Aboriginal women of Sydney today. She is every black woman, every mother, daughter, sister, aunty. She is Country.”

Led by Alison Page, an award-winning First Nations creative at the forefront of the contemporary Australian Aboriginal art and design, the project has been developed in conversation with Curatorial and Cultural Advisor Rhoda Roberts AO as well as locally connected representatives and Traditional Owners of the Coastal Sydney region who have come together to form the new Sydney Coastal Aboriginal Women’s Group. The Group is made up of over 20 women including Rhonda Clark, Rene Campbell, Jacqui Jarrett (Timbery), Denise Simon, Lavina Phillips, Rowena Welsh-Jarrett, Kowana Welsh, Dakota Dixon, Sara Campbell, Shaneah Jones, Keisha Davison, Angeline Penrith and Bronwyn Penrith. The naming of the work was in consultation with the Gujaga Foundation. Members of the Sydney Coastal Aboriginal Women’s Group have been invited to be a part of the process, from the work’s creation through to its ultimate unveiling, as it becomes a site of cultural pride immortalising First Nations women.

Steve McGillivray, Project Director, Development Lendlease said: “Exceptional public spaces can act as canvases for cultural expression, enriching the connections between people and place. This new major public artwork by Alison Page will become a prominent and powerful feature along the Circular Quay waterfront, drawing people in and stimulating conversation with its strength of story.”

The work will be produced by UAP and delivered by Lendlease as part of the luxury residential One Circular Quay and Waldorf Astoria Sydney hotel development.

About Alison Page:

Alison Page is a descendant of the Dharawal and Yuin people and is an award-winning creative at the forefront of the contemporary Australian Aboriginal cultural movement. She is a leading force in the Australian design scene and has an extensive career spanning design, public art, exhibitions and urban design.

Her career began in the late 90’s working in architecture and interior design in Australia’s first Aboriginal architecture group Merrima. Her practice expanded to converge urban design, sculpture and film and is grounded in collaboration with the Traditional Owners of the lands in which she works. Her projects include Wellama (2019), a permanent film installation at Barangaroo, The Message (2020) film installation for Endeavour 250 exhibition at the National Museum of Australia (NMA), and The Eyes of the Land and the Sea (2020) sculpture at Kamay Botany Bay National Park. In 2022 she created a film experience, Ochre and Sky for the Great Southern Land exhibition at NMA. She is currently working on a number of permanent sculpture projects in Sydney for the redevelopment of the David Jones building, the Sydney Fish Markets, Westmead Children’s Hospital, M6 Parklands and Bondi Pavilion.

Alison is currently a Professor of Practice at UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture & Building, and a member of several cultural boards including the National Australia Day Council, Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Aboriginal Hostels Ltd and the Australian National Maritime Museum. She is the founder of the National Aboriginal Design Agency and Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance. In 2015 she was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame and in 2022 was the Interior Design Excellence Awards Gold Medal winner. Alison was a panelist for eight years on the ABC television program The New Inventors, which showcased Australian innovation. In 2021 she co-authored Design, Building on Country with Paul Memmott, published by Thames and Hudson Australia as part of their First Knowledges Series.