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Lullabies

Lullabies

Since 2017 Community Arts Network has worked with Noongar artists, Elders and their families to shape the Lullabies program, reviving Noongar language through stories, music and song. Lullabies focuses on the creation and recording of original songs, written and performed in language by the Noongar community.

Lullabies is supported through the Australian Government’s Indigenous Languages and Arts program.

Lullabies Belmont

Guided by acclaimed Noongar songwriters and musicians Della Rae Morrison and Kobi Arthur Morrison, Noongar families participated in a series of song-writing and recording workshops. Entitled Koorndarm Bidi (Dreaming Path), the collection of original Noongar lullabies created during this project follows the sleep journey from evening to morning, inspired by the calm of dusk, the ancestral spirits of the star-strewn night, and the dawn of a new day.

Koorndaarm Bidi: Noongar Lullabies from Belmont

Visit the project page for more information

Lullabies Northam

Kwobidak Balladong Boodja is a compilation of original lullabies that capture the koort, moort and kalyakool (heart, family and legacy) of Noongar families in Northam.

Under the gentle guidance of award-winning artists Phil Bartlett and Cyndy Moody, Noongar community members came together to share Noongar language and learn songwriting techniques.

Once everyone had crafted their songs, participants recorded their lullabies in a pop-up studio at Northam Primary School, with additional musical production by the Lullabies team - Cyndy, Phil and Sean Lillico.

Kwobidak Ballardong Boodja

Read the interview about the project: Noongar elders and artists in Northam keep local language alive through song

Watch the 7-minute video ABC/iView: Can singing in language support mental wellbeing?

Listen to the Album

Download the Songbook

Noongar Lullabies Online

In 2020 the CAN team took Lullabies online, bringing the Noongar community together virtually. This unique incarnation of Lullabies resulted in the creation of Ngaalang Moort: Noongar Lullabies from Home, a collection of moving songs that celebrate moort (family), koort (heart), and woonya (love).

Listen to the album

Read the songbook

Djinda Djinda

The Djinda Djinda Kanangoor animated video was produced by VAM Media and features the talents of many First Nations creators, including musicians Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, multimedia artist Yabini Kickett and director Danni Booth. The animation also stars young actors Lara and Finlay. The animation was launched in 2019 and is a much-shared resource from CAN’s website and social media platforms.

Lullabies Mandurah

Bringing the community together to write and record an album of heartfelt songs in Noongar language, Lullabies Mandurah resulted in seven original songs, ten story dolls, a printed songbook, lively community celebration, music industry award nomination and – perhaps most importantly – strengthened connections to community, culture, and language.

Listen to the album

Read the songbook

Lullabies Bunbury

Lullabies Bunbury saw a unique partnership between CAN, the South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS) and Noongar Boodja Language Centre bring Bunbury-based Noongar families together, creating bush-dyed story dolls and an album of beautifully rendered Noongar language songs. The 19 songs featured on Kwobidak Maawit: Noongar Lullabies from Bunbury are a celebration of connection with community, country and culture through language and music.

Listen to the album

Read the songbook

Intercultural Lullabies Mandurah

Intercultural Lullabies was launched in 2021 in Mandurah, creating a space where children, families and communities shared their culture and built a deeper connection to First Nations culture. Noongar lullabies from previous CAN projects were translated into Tagalog, South Sudanese Arabic, Persian, Igbo, Visayan, Indonesion, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi.

Read the songbook

CAN Perth Head Office

Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm

PO Box 7514 Cloisters Square WA 6850

King Street Arts Centre
Ground Floor 357-365 Murray St
Perth WA 6000

08 9226 2422

admin@can.org.au

ABN: 72106364407

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