Celebrate First Nations culture with free events, workshops, walks, and art from 26 May to 13 July.
This year’s Gai-mariagal Festival in North Sydney will feature free film screenings, workshops, art installations and children’s activities. It celebrates First Nations culture and connection running from 26 May to 13 July. The festival showcases the stories, creativity, and cultural legacies of First Nations people.
North Sydney Council has created a diverse and inclusive program of free events. These aim to engage the community and provide opportunities to learn, reflect and celebrate.
Featured events include:
- WINHANGANHA film screening and Q&A
A special screening of Wiradjuri artist Jazz Money’s evocative film, followed by a discussion with Nathan Sentance. - Art workshops with Dr Virginia Keft
Join Muruwari woman and award-winning artist Dr Virginia Keft for hands-on printmaking and interactive weaving and yarning circle. Explore legacy and storytelling through creative practice. - Writers@Stanton - Kids’ edition
Children’s author Melissa-Jane Fogarty presents her picture book Tubowgule in an interactive talk for young readers. - Indigenous culture family walk and stone art workshop
Join a guided bushwalk exploring native plants and rock engraving sites, followed by a creative stone art session.
As part of the Festival, North Sydney Council has commissioned a new installation by Dr Virginia Keft at two public art sites: the Inside Outside Sculpture Plinth and the windows of the Ros Crichton Pavilion in Ted Mack Civic Park.
Titled Weaving Sky Stories, the twin works explore the sky as a living narrative. A vessel of ancestral memory, navigation and interconnection between land, water and celestial knowledge.
Dr Virginia Keft said, “The exhibition speaks to the core theme of the Gai-mariagal Festival - Legacies for Future Generations. It speaks to continuity and care of Country as a shared responsibility - to carry stories, to promote resilience and to uplift our voices as a guiding force for future generations”.
North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker said the festival provides space for both education and celebration.
“Through this program, we’re recognising the significance of First Nations culture and opening the door for meaningful engagement across our community. It’s about honouring the past while supporting a future of greater understanding and respect.”
Nathan Sentance, who will join Jazz Money for the Q&A following the screening of WINHANGANHA, said the film speaks powerfully to resilience and representation.
“I am so excited that Jazz Money’s WINHANGANHA is part of the Gai-maragal Festival. The film is a love filled celebration of Blak joy, anger and resilience and as such is a powerful refusal to the way colonial archives and history have tried to diminish us. Whenever colonial archives have tried to obscure us, the light of our strength has pierced through - WINHANGANHA lets us shine.”
Delivered as part of a region-wide celebration of First Nations culture, the 2025 program aligns with National Sorry Day (26 May), Reconciliation Week (27 May - 3 June), and NAIDOC Week (6-14 July). The festival theme, Legacies for Future Generations, reflects the enduring knowledge, creativity and strength passed down through First Nations communities.