First Nations Exchange

Transnational First Nations Exchange activates remembering through the sharing of Austronesian knowledge systems. Bringing together artists, Elders, cultural bearers, researchers and communities from across Australia, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, this stream explores the ways knowledge travels through story, song, weaving, navigation, performance, language, foodways and relationships to land and sea.

Grounded in the understanding that the ocean has long functioned as a connective space rather than a boundary, the exchange creates opportunities to learn from diverse cultural traditions while recognising shared histories of movement, adaptation and cultural transmission across the region. Through gatherings, residencies, workshops, research and community-led encounters, participants explore how ancestral knowledge can inform contemporary artistic practice and collective responses to the social, cultural and environmental challenges of our time.

Rather than seeking a singular Austronesian identity, the program celebrates the diversity of oceanic cultures while creating space for dialogue, reciprocity and mutual learning. It understands artists and cultural practitioners as contemporary navigators, carrying knowledge across generations and geographies, and contributing to a living network of relationships that extends from Southeast Asia to Australia and, increasingly, into the wider Pacific.

2026 - 2027 Projects

Sitti Obeso R&D: Researching schools of living traditions, between Metro Manila and Davao City, Philippines.

Lily Shearer (Moogahlin) and Dumagat Community in partnership with Roselle Pineda and Aurora Artist Residency Program and Space: Murrawarri and Dumagat Exchange, between Brewarrina NSW, Australia and Aurora, Quezon Province, Philippines.