Committed to celebrating and supporting Indigenous culture, this year Mirvac will host a series of live artists across Sydney and Melbourne to celebrate the NAIDOC Week theme of Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!

NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme is about amplifying Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples’ voices to narrow the gap between aspiration and reality, good intent and outcome.

Delivered in partnership with Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative in NSW and The Torch in VIC, the exhibitions aim to connect communities to this important message through art and storytelling.

Head of Mirvac’s Integrated Investment Portfolio, Campbell Hanan said, “Art fosters connection and collaboration between communities, and it can be a powerful tool for raising awareness of important issues. While it is vital that we acknowledge and celebrate our Indigenous communities every day, NAIDOC Week presents a fantastic opportunity to recognise our local history, highlighting the people and their stories.”

Cooleman Court Mural

A number of Mirvac shopping centres across NSW will be partnering with Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-op, one of Australia’s longest-running Aboriginal-owned and operated art galleries. The centres will be collaborating with local artists to showcase artwork and provide shoppers with free creative workshops throughout the week. Broadway Sydney in particular is going all out with a large installation, photographic exhibition and the return of its annual pop-up gallery and store.

Mirvac has also partnered with Deadly Science for NAIDOC Week. Founded by the inspirational young OAM-awarded, Corey Tutt, Deadly Science’s mission is to ensure all schools have access to First Nations history of science by providing resources that connect schools to the First Scientists of Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in addition to other STEM educational materials, Mirvac is hoping to raise much-needed awareness and funds for Deadly Science at Broadway Sydney.

Broadway Sydney will host four workshops, each covering the four pillars of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – with participants partaking in hands-on activities to make a STEM tool or device they can take home. Each person will be gifted a free copy of Deadly Science Australian Geographic book.

Broadway Sydney and Deadly Science will also host a screening of ‘Take Heart: Deadly Heart,’ at HOYTS Broadway LUXE Lounge on Thursday 7 July, kicking off with a special Q&A with Corey Tutt and the Director of Rheumatic Heart Disease Australia, Vicki Wade.

Across the week, nine of Mirvac’s office buildings in Sydney and Melbourne will also host live art in their lobbies, supporting local artists from Boomalli and The Torch and providing thousands of office workers a rare opportunity to see some of Australia’s finest First Nations artists at work, and to talk to them about their art and the stories behind their pieces. The artworks will be on display for the week before going on sale with 100% of the proceeds going back to the artists.

“The message of Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! is a powerful one and it’s important we continue to find new ways to drive the discussion, bringing people together to move beyond acknowledgement, intentions and promises. Through art and by providing an opportunity for genuine connections with our communities, we hope to get closer to a place of justice, equity and true recognition for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Hanan continues.

While NAIDOC Week runs for one week from July 3 to July 10, Mirvac’s commitment to celebrating and supporting Indigenous culture is an ongoing one, with the company recently releasing its second Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

Mirvac recognises the Traditional Owners of the land through the inclusion of an ‘Acknowledgement to Country’ on all shopping centre websites and throughout their buildings and is committed to providing their community spaces to showcase indigenous art and culture.