Yamaji Art and Nicole Monks’ Activating Collections residency is underway, focused on reconnecting with Yama(t)ji cultural belongings and archival records held within the Western Australian Museum.

Over the next three weeks, Yamaji Art and Nicole will lead meetings, collection visits and workshops across Jambinu/Geraldton and Boorloo/Perth, creating a safe space for Yama(t)ji Elders, artists and community to come together through remembering, truth-telling and renewal.

The project builds on Nicole’s First Nations-led collection response framework and previous research undertaken with Yamaji Art into Yama(t)ji cultural material held by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). With support from WA Museum, the group will now engage with photographs and 3D-printed objects recently acquired from the TMAG collection.

Following engagement with cultural items on display at the Museum of Geraldton, Yama(t)ji artists, Elders and Yamaji Art staff will travel to Boorloo/Perth to visit the WA Museum Research and Collection Centre and Berndt Museum. There, they will connect with, document and respond to Yama(t)ji cultural belongings and archival records.

For the first time, the residency will bring the full process of collection access, documentation and community engagement onto Country and into community, alongside creative reflection, intergenerational workshops and public programs.

The 2026 Activating Collections Artist in Residence program is made possible through the Regional Exhibition Touring Boost with support from the WA Government and delivered by ART ON THE MOVE in partnership with the Museum of Geraldton. For more info visit artonthemove.art/residencies