The ART ON THE MOVE touring exhibition Bush Babies – Honouring our Elders born in the bush was a collection of paintings of sixteen Elders who were painted as part of Community Arts Network’s Bush Babies community arts project, which recorded and preserved the unique stories of the Elders who were born in the bush, reserves, missions or fringes of towns.

The paintings, and the short stories that accompanied them, opened a window on a sorry part of our history. The Elders featured in this exhibition all lived under harsh government policies that denied them basic human rights, including the privilege of being born at the local hospital. Many of them were born in tents, makeshift shelters or under the stars, with senior women in their families serving as midwives. This exhibition provided an outlet to share their stories to audiences and created awareness of these issues amongst communities.

The exhibition was inspired by a single photograph taken during one of Community Arts Network’s digital media workshops. The photographer, Jarrad Seng captured a stunning image of Ballardong Elder Hazel Winmar on her 99th birthday. The photograph inspired Wheatbelt artist Graham Smith to paint her portrait and this in turn inspired other artists to come forward to volunteer to honour an elder on canvas. A mix of professional and student artists painted the portraits that feature in the show. All painters volunteered their time to honour the Noongar Elders. Many of the non-Indigenous artists who took part, lived alongside the Elders in their town, who at first knew little about their stories of hardship and oppression they endured.