Bookings for this event are currently closed. Please directly with any queries.

2026 Wingara Conference - On-Country Learning Experience

Name: 2026 Wingara Conference - On-Country Learning Experience
Start: 2026-06-24T16:35:00+10:00
End: 2026-06-24T16:35:00+10:00
Location: Ground floor, Naala Badu building, Art Gallery of New South Wales

About

The Independent Schools NSW Wingara Education Conference in 2026 will focus on the rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in the NSW curriculum.

Conference participants are invited to join delegates in an additional learning experience at an after-hours private guided tour of the Yiribana Gallery at the Art Gallery of New South Wales to understand the importance of learning On-Country and connecting to Aboriginal Knowledge Systems.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales has two art museum buildings in the Domain in Sydney on Gadigal Country. These have been given Sydney Aboriginal language names. Our tour will be at Naala Badu, which means ‘seeing waters’, is our new building on the north part of the site, overlooking Sydney Harbour.

The display in this gallery is inspired by a word from the Aboriginal language of Sydney: burbangana. Meaning to ’take hold of my hand and help me up’, burbangana is akin to an invitation. It is imbued with generosity and care, and emphasises the connections between people.

The exhibited works touch on moments of burbangana in differing ways. Some consider notions of care and guidance through familial relationships. Others offer philosophies for living and profile the intricacies of cultural inheritance, or they examine ongoing complexities of history and resilience.

An expert First Nations guide will lead us through the exhibition, sharing insights into the diversity of art practice across Australia in terms of media, process, conceptual content and geography. We will learn about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is constantly changing as culture, like all cultures around the world is living and dynamic.

Our tour will conclude with chacuterie and cheese station in the gallery cafe with a selection of drinks.

This is a ticketed learning experience:

To attend this additional learning experience, conference participants will be required to purchase a ticket. There is an additional cost of $110.00 ex GST per person (in addition to the Conference registration).

The Art Gallery Naala Badu building is a leisurely 20 minute walk from the Independent Schools NSW Conference centre, or a 10 minute taxi ride (taxi from The Grace Hotel on York Street). The conference will conclude at 4pm, allowing 35 minutes for delegates to make their way to the gallery for a 4:35pm arrival at the Welcome Hub in the outdoor Welcome Plaza of Naala Badu, the gallery's new glass building, where your gallery educator will greet you on the ground floor.