The Bradbury Preschool Wombats were honoured with a special award at the 32nd Annual MIL-PRA AECG Art Exhibition for their project, Emu Egg Journey of Discovery. While 16 families could attend the ceremony and receive the award on stage, this significant achievement resulted from a term-long project involving 40 children.
The award was selected by and presented by Liverpool State Member, Charishma Kaliyanda. During the ceremony, she shared the following words:
‘The Building Bridges Award recognises the importance of sharing stories, knowledge, and culture on reconciliation and the continued celebration of Australia’s First Nations heritage. It appreciates that our diverse and multicultural community is stronger, more resilient, and better connected when we take the opportunity to learn First Nations stories and traditions.
The piece submitted by the Bradbury Preschool Wombats Group deserves this award because every element of the piece develops the understanding of First Nations culture, stories, and language within the children who participated in making the piece, and for our broader community. The attention to detail and interactivity of the piece are particularly celebrated. Well done to the children of Bradbury Preschool Wombats Group and the hard-working early childhood educators and staff who have created a lifelong memory!”
The Emu Egg Project emerged from the curiosity of just one Emu Egg. While observing the seasons changing around us, our intentional teaching of Indigenous perspectives intertwined with the children’s learning to teach them about the history of the Emu in the Sky. The children learned about Indigenous astrology, and how the Aboriginal people would look for an emu outlined within the blank space of the Milky Way which when aligned with ground carvings, signified the commencement of egg hunting season. Our Emu Egg Project was a culmination of the teaching and learning we engaged in together to create an art installation that would go on to teach others.
The project itself consisted in the making of:
THE EGGS: Painted rocks representing emu eggs. The children examined the emu eggs and noticed the different colours within the shell and mixed the paint colour to match.
THE NEST: Outer Nest –The children went walking on country to find natural elements and materials that were interwoven within a nest of twisted vines which included lemon myrtle leaves, grasses, lomandra, and gum leaves which were scorched on the bush kindy campfire to emulate the Naidoc theme of ‘Keeping the fire burning’. Inner Nest – The children used materials to create a paper mache bowl which was then covered in a compacted layer of recycled paper pulp. Using recycled materials and making the paper pulp resonates with our caring for country teachings. The children also collected ground litter from under the playground trees to collage the inside of the bowl which included pine needles, bark, and decomposing leaves. Then we added traditional emu feathers to represent the emu sitting on the nest.
POSTERS: These posters were created from images drawn by the children through learning provocations which included the NEST the EMU and the EGG. These images were later collaged using natural materials including broken egg shell from a real emu egg (a mishap that we turned into an opportunity) emu feathers, sticks, and pine needles. These pictures were mounted on recycled paper that we made with the same paper pulp used for the nest. The Gujaga Foundation shared with us the Dharawal words that we used for each button. The children’s voices were recorded onto voice-activated buttons which were placed under each poster. This interactive approach not only demonstrated the children’s learning, it also shares their learning to inform and teach the viewer in the gallery.
EMU IN THE SKY: This was a collaborative painting including a wide range of materials that children used to draw, dot with markers, and spray paint around an image of an emu that the children helped to draw, cut out, and stick down throughout the process to create the silhouette observed in the final image.
The recognition we received for this project highlights the value of cultural education and the role that early childhood projects can play in fostering understanding and appreciation of First Nations heritage among the next generation which underpins the preschool’s philosophy, our values and beliefs not just for our preschool, but for the wider community. The art installation is proudly on display at the Casula Powerhouse until the 25th of September for the public to view. It was also selected to feature in the Art Exhibition catalogue.
