Message Sticks Festival

Message Sticks Festival, also known for some time as Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, was an arts festival celebrating the culture of Aboriginal Australians, based at the Sydney Opera House, between 1999 and 2013. It focused on film for several years, but music, theatre and dance were also showcased. The festival was succeeded by Homeground in 2014.

Message Sticks Festival/Homeground
Begins1999 or 2000
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Sydney Opera House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Most recent25–26 November 2017

Message Sticks

Message Sticks was initially held at the Sydney Opera House and afterwards toured nationally, between 1999 or 2000 and 2013.[1]

In its earliest incarnations, it incorporated Indigenous dance, music, theatre and film, but from 2002 it focused on film, curated by Rachel Perkins and Darren Dale of Blackfella Films.[2] As event producer of the film festival, the venue aimed to showcase both established and emerging Indigenous filmmakers.[3] From 2004 the Australian Film Commission (from 2008 Screen Australia) started funding the film festival.[4]

In June 2004, the musical production Ruby's Story, telling the story of singer-songwriter Ruby Hunter, and staged by Hunter, her musical and life partner Archie Roach, along with Paul Grabowsky and the Australian Art Orchestra, debuted at Message Sticks. The production was reviewed well, the soundtrack went on to win the Deadly Award for Excellence in Film & Theatrical Score,[5][6] and the show toured internationally and regionally until 2009.[7]

Create NSW's strategic plan for 2011–2014 included two-year support for Sydney Opera House's first Head of Indigenous Programming, Rhoda Roberts, and further development of the festival into "a multi-arts program of contemporary and traditional Indigenous expression through theatre, dance, song, film, visual art and talks". Attendance rose 40% in 2013, from 10,000 people in 2012, of whom 92% were new attendees.[8] The festival was six days long in its later editions.[2] In 2011 its touring destinations included Brisbane, Perth, Alice Springs, Broome, Cairns, Darwin and Yirrkala.[9]

Homeground

In 2014 the Opera House replaced Message Sticks with Homeground, a two-day festival focusing on Indigenous music and dance. Part of the reason for the change, according to Roberts, was the difficulty of obtaining new-release films, as Indigenous films had achieved such a high degree of success in mainstream cinemas, TV and festivals.[2]

Being an international event, the programme includes First Nations performers and traditions from countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and Tibet.[10] It features music and dance workshops, along with displays of contemporary art and traditional art forms.[11]

As of January 2022, the last festival on the website took place from 25 to 26 November 2017.[10] Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project played at the festival[12][13]

References
  1. Korff, Jens (6 October 2018). "Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival Sydney 2013 (Film)". Creative Spirits. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. Dow, Steve (10 February 2014). "Shorter indigenous festival part of 'fresh dynamic': director". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. "UNESCO: Sydney, City of Film" (PDF). Screen NSW. 2010. p. 76. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. Screen Australia (July 2019). "The Next 25 Years: Screen Australia Indigenous Department Strategy" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  5. "Archie Roach & Ruby Hunter". Deadly Vibe. November 2007. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  6. "Ruby's Story". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 June 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  7. "Ruby's Story". Australian Art Orchestra. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020.
  8. NSW Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Strategy (AACS) 2011–2014: Evaluation report (PDF) (Report). Evaluation Report prepared for Arts NSW by Lois Randall Creative Consulting. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2021.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Arneman, Kate (7 November 2013). "Indigenous film festival opens in Sydney". Australian Geographic. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. "Homeground". Sydney Opera House. 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. Turner, Ross (7 October 2016). "Homeground Festival: Indigenous culture brought to life". NITV . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  12. "Mixing EDM & Manikay To Touch The Heart Of The Country". The Music. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  13. "Yothu Yindi & The Treaty Project was live: Homeground Festival" (Video). Facebook. 26 November 2017.
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