By Jaz Hook
Smoke filled Carriageworks in Eveleigh as people lined the seats. “This smoke is a gift,” Aunty Calita said as she began the ceremony.
The recent Beyond the Walls event celebrated community, culture and the work of Phunktional over the past five years.
The not-for-profit dance arts company, which created the project Beyond the Walls, visited the Frank Baxter and Reiby youth justice centres in NSW in 2019. Young people inside these centres were given the chance to tell their stories and heal through the art of choreographed dance. They directed the professional dancers and made their vision and truth come alive.
After the smoking ceremony, we were invited to have dinner, an array of native Australian-inspired street food, provided for free by a 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned business, Plate Events – Wilka Thalta food truck. I decided it was the night I tried kangaroo and, as expected, it was delicious.
Before the first performance I got talking to Yolanda, a woman who’s been working in the justice system for 20 years, who’d come with about 25 other people. I discovered she is part of the Barayagal choir (Barayagal translates to “Sydney sings”), run by singer Nardi Simpson, which meets weekly at Redfern Community Centre to rehearse.
The show began and I found a seat with some of the Barayagal ladies. Stiff Gins (Simpson and Kaleena Briggs) took to the stage, singing in a fusion of English and First Nations languages. Having met at Eora TAFE in Redfern, they’ve continued making music together for 20-plus years. Gin (dyin), meaning woman, has a history of being derogatory and the band is reclaiming the word.
We viewed a short documentary on the work Glen Thomas, an instrumental figure in the project in 2019, had done through Phunktional.
First Nations people have been telling their stories through creative arts forever. Glen’s mother said in the film it makes her happy to see her son having the power of dance and to be able to give that back to the
generations to come.
On average in the June quarter of 2023, 63 per cent of youth aged 10-17 in detention were First Nations youth. A series of performances were held in the NSW Parliament House by Phunktional in 2019, to raise awareness about youth incarceration before parliament sat to discuss raising criminal responsibility age from 10 to 14 years old.
Five years on, we’re debating the same issue.
After viewing the powerful documentary, which will be shown on NITV, the Minister of Youth Justice, Jihad Dib, gave a speech on video fully supporting the event.
To my delight the Barayagal Choir performed; a mix of all races, ages and genders coming together to sing. Between songs, Nardi Simpson would try to convince the crowd to join choir practice each week, or at least come for a cuppa. I must admit she may have convinced me.
One of the highlights of the night was a surprise performance by rapper and musician BARKAA. The Brolga Dance Academy were performing when BARKAA came and joined them, it was a beautiful moment that I’m sure those kids will never forget.
Empowering First Nations youth from an early age is so important, to know and embrace their culture. That’s exactly what Phunktional does for the community.
Phunktional will be launching a new project over the next three years so there is more to come.
Featured image: BARKAA and the Brolga Dance Company. Photo: Jaz Hook
