MCA Australia and the SharingStories Foundation present a journey through Adnyamathanha Country

A giant pop-up book comes to life at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) this week, offering an unforgettable journey through Adnyamathanha Country; during which six senior Adnyamathanha women and two young women travel through Ilkura (the Flinders Ranges) in the footsteps of Virkuthalypila, the Two Women from the Yura Muda (Dreamtime).This 30-minute immersive animation, made by the Adnyamathanha community of South Australia in collaboration with the SharingStories Foundation brings the rich cultural heritage of the Adnyamathanha people to life through vibrant hand drawn illustration, songs and Dreamtime Storytelling.

This one-month residency (October 10 – November 12) inside MCA Australia’s National Centre for Creative Learning is part of an Australia-wide tour for the work, starting in Leigh Creek SA in September 2025 and finishing in the Tiwi Islands in 2026

“We are honoured that the Adnyamathanha community has shared this powerful story. This is a new and innovative way of engaging with Culture and immersing ourselves in place-based stories that give us all an opportunity to learn.” Ms Williams said.

MCA Director, Engagement, Lamia Dabboussy said “It’s a privilege to host this beautiful and engaging artwork at the Museum.  We’re grateful to the Adnyamathanha community and to the SharingStories Foundation for working with us to bring this story to the MCA at Tallawoladah, to expand connections and to strengthen understanding of rich community cultures in all their diversity across Australia.”

This project began in 2018 when Senior Cultural Custodians invited SharingStories Foundation, led by Special Projects Lead, Liz Thompson, Projection Artist/Project Manager, Fleur Elise Noble along with filmmaker, audio recordist and story editor, Glen Maw to collaborate on a large-scale cultural animated film about Virkuthalypila (The Two Women), Creation Ancestors who travelled across Adnyamathanha Country with their two children. A week-long road trip across Adnyamathanha Country became the foundation for the story and artwork. Senior women Linda Coulthard, Lesley Coulthard, Yvonne Brady, Gladys Wilton, Sophie Wilton, Judy Johnson, joined by two young women, Sohara Smith and Shaunaya Smith as the key narrators, began the creative journey that would evolve into this dynamic installation.

In October 2018 and March 2019, the SharingStories team returned for a six-week residency to work with the Custodians and Leigh Creek Area School students, developing the remaining content. SharingStories’ animator Isobel Knowles, lead digital developer Van Sowerwine, and sound artist Missi Mel Pesa worked with community artists to transform these stories and artworks into a vibrant, immersive experience. Previously exhibited at the Art Gallery of South Australia as part of the DreamBIG Festival in 2019, the project is a testament to deep collaboration, shared knowledge, and cultural integrity.

Custodians and lead Contributors Include: Gladys Wilton, Linda Coulthard, Judy Johnson, Yvonne Brady, Sophia Wilton, Lesley Coulthard, Donna Coulthard, Veronica Coulthard, Teresa Brady, Sohara Brady, Shaunaya Smith, Cliff Coulthard, and Rhonda Gepp from the Adnyamantha Community. Shaunaya Smith is the key narrator of the piece, and Adnyamathanha students at Leigh Creek Area School were engaged in the process as artists and animators. Fleur Elise Noble, Isobel Knowles, Van Sowerwine, Missi Mel Pesa from the SharingStories team, led the production of animations with Custodians to bring the community’s illustrations to life. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program and Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body and supported by the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute.

About SharingStories Foundation
SharingStories Foundation is an award-winning non-profit organisation that works with First Nations communities across Australia to maintain and grow language, stories, and cultural heritage through arts, education, and digital technologies. Creativity is the vehicle we use to support artistic and linguistic continuities and outcomes, supporting the vision of strong, connected First Nations young people and communities. www.sharingstoriesfoundation.org

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) presents, collects and engages with the art of our time. Guided by the principles of belonging, connection and influence, we aim to be the defining platform for contemporary art and ideas in Australia and beyond. Located on Sydney Harbour at Tallawoladah, a home to stories, art and culture for over 65,000 years, we connect the widest possible public to contemporary art through exhibitions, events, creative learning and access programs. Our evolving Collection of over 4,700 artworks is the only public collection in Australia dedicated to the work of living artists, with over a third represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. As an independent, not-for-profit organisation, MCA Australia raises over 80% of its revenue each year through donations and commercial activities to deliver its artistic and engagement programs.