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Yesterday (28/5/16) I went to the Reconciliation Week exhibition at Latrobe Regional Gallery in Morwell, Latrobe City, Gippsland. The exhibition runs until the end of Reconciliation Week – that is, until 3rd June.

Latrobe Regional Gallery is a fairly small place although big in terms of quality. This week’s Reconciliation Week exhibition is small but well worth the visit for a few reasons. There is no charge for entry to the gallery or any of the exhibitions.

Kids’ activities area

The kids’ activities area includes:

• A book box full of wonderfully written and illustrated kids’ books about Gunaikurnai and other Aboriginal traditional stories and histories.
• Two tablets, each showcasing a different interactive program/story sequence; they kept my seven-year-old occupied for an hour and a half while I browsed through the kids’ and adults’ books about Aboriginal history, including Gippsland history.
• A beautiful woven mat with traditional designs that encouraged people to sit around a campfire. In the centre was a campfire of little lights/cellophane mini-fires  kids had made earlier that day. I helped my little boy stick his together and place it into the bigger fire with the rest
• Other kids’ craft activities to make and take home: colouring in, and a cut-out campfire to glue and assemble.

Simply amazing books

I’ve mentioned the book box. I pored over First Australians – an illustrated history (edited by Rachel Perkins and Marcia Langton) and noticed it had been borrowed from the Latrobe City Library so I’ve written that one down in my ‘to borrow’ list, as well as in my ‘to definitely buy one day for my own library at home’ list. The box contained other glorious books of which I’d never heard; for example, there was a collection of Gunaikurnai creation stories in a folder which looked as if it hasn’t yet been published. It is called ‘Nyeernila – listen continuously’. (see Aboriginal Creation Stories of Victoria). There was also a series of colourful, published books called the ‘Gunai’ series. They were about Gippsland’s creation stories but I can’t tell you much more about them because by that stage I’d already been a couple of hours in the gallery and had to get going, so I didn’t get a chance to read them. I recommend anyone who is passionate about Gippsland literature, oral history and/or Aboriginal literature to pop into the gallery. I’ll certainly be going back over the next few days to get a better look at the books in that Gunai series.

Other exhibitions

While I was at the Latrobe Regional Gallery I also visited its other exhibitions which are really good value, and some of the other artworks on display are also very relevant to Reconciliation Week.

Do I recommend this exhibition?

It is small so I wouldn’t travel all the way from Melbourne to see it. But if you live in the Valley or are passing by or through Morwell over the next few days, I recommend you drop in and take a look at this lovely little exhibition and while you’re there, check out the other exhibitions on display at our wonderful gallery.

For more information about Latrobe Regional Gallery go to: www.latroberegionalgallery.com

Keep posted for future articles about books I’ve been reading, films I’ve been watching and exhibitions I’ve been experiencing.