Bower Studio to build Wadeye Culture Centre
University of Melbourne students are working together with the Aboriginal community in Wadeye to build a permanent home for precious and historic cultural collections.
The Melbourne School of Design’s Bower Studio has partnered with The Faculty of Arts’ Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation and the Thamarrurr Development Corporation to create a Culture Centre for the Northern Territory’s Wadeye community.
The project combines the design and construction skills of MSD students with the conservation expertise of the Grimwade Centre. The new Culture Centre will include a safe house strong enough to withstand a cyclone, a broadcasting space with seating, stage, projection screen and the capacity to function as an audio/language archive.
Currently, Wadeye cultural and historic collections are stored in an unstable structure which is extremely vulnerable to the natural elements, with cyclones being the most likely and concerning risk.
Artworks, cultural objects, family and community photographs, documents and audiovisual recordings of cultural events, ceremonies, song, dance and language are in danger of being lost forever, with technical obsolescence of analogue materials, harsh environmental conditions and limited access to technological and financial resources all playing a part.
Intergenerational knowledge transfer is paramount to the community. Much of the Indigenous knowledge held within the collections, such as preparation of bush foods, is retained by only a handful of people.
There are at least seven local language groups spoken in the region; all but one are in danger of dying out. “It’s important that we act now to preserve the Wadeye region’s Indigenous languages, customs and artefacts – a safe, secure and cyclone-proof building is an immediate first step,” explains The Grimwade Centre’s Indigenous expert Dr Lyndon Ormond-Parker.
The Culture Centre will help cultivate the community’s connection to each other, as well as providing a thriving, inclusive facility which conserves and celebrates Indigenous heritage for generations to come.
“The idea for the Culture Centre is to provide an open, community space, where people of all ages can gather and tell stories about their history and ancestry,” says Tobias Nganbe, CEO of Thamarrurr Development Corporation.
“Some people in the community haven’t had the opportunity to see their true country and this space will hopefully provide them with a sense of who they really are and where they’ve come from. We want visitors who come here to have a better understanding of what’s important to us.”
Bower Studio program coordinator Dr David O’Brien has developed community projects with 18 communities in remote Australia and Papua New Guinea over a ten-year period. Follow up research helps make his Bower Studio stronger and smarter.
“Appropriate design is not readily accessible to people living at the margins of mainstream society. It is important that they have access to well-considered design outcomes that suit their cultural needs,” he explains.
“It’s very rewarding to work together to get something built that has tangible value – architecture can have significant positive social outcomes,” Dr O’Brien said.
Dr O’Brien believes there are many benefits for students as they are encouraged to be involved in creating positive impacts for remote communities beyond physical infrastructure.
“Students learn and share in the celebrating of indigenous culture. Such involvement helps them understand the community-building function of architecture,” Dr O’Brien said.
Up to 180 Australian students have participated in the Bower Studio program working alongside partner communities, partner universities and with the support of many industry and NGO groups.
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