Indigenous residents are being invited to commemorate National Sorry Day in a new arts space in South Morang.
Whittlesea council commissioned renowned Aboriginal artist Glenn Romanis to design and build a Sorry Day space that will be dedicated to members of the stolen generations and the traditional owners of the land, the Wurundjeri Willam people.
Romanis has worked on more than 100 large- scale public and community art projects.
The Sorry Day space has been designed in the shape of a teardrop, to represent the pain of separation experienced by families who were part of the stolen generations.
The teardrop also represents tears of joy shed when some families were reunited.
Romanis said the art space, more than a year in the making, had been created after extensive collaboration with Whittlesea’s indigenous elders.
He said while many shared personal experiences of the stolen generations, others spoke of how this period in history continued to impact on indigenous communities.
“The art space is fundamentally illustrations and stories about indigenous people living in this area who were forcibly removed from their parents and families,” he said.
“It was an extremely emotional process, and obviously a horrible time in Australia’s recent past, but these stories needed to be told.
‘‘My hope is that the final piece goes a little way to represent the history of these people and the land.”
The open space includes stone work with engraved images, two leaf-shaped red gum seats, and a carved wooden bowl that will be used for traditional smoking ceremonies.
Romanis says he wants the space to be somewhere that indigenous people and the wider community can go to reflect on the cultural history of the land.
And he hopes Aboriginal elders will feel connected to the space and see it as a reflection of their own stories and history.
The space will be unveiled during a ceremony at the council offices in South Morang from 10am to 1pm on National Sorry Day, May 26.
Indigenous elders will stage a ‘‘sorry walk’’ after the service.
For more details, phone 9217 2174.
