Enhancing cultural safety with digital placemaking

Title screen of short film YILABARA by Jazz Money

As part of its strategic focus on cultural competence, the University of Sydney Library has been working to improve the sense of cultural safety experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in its spaces.

One of these initiatives is the digital placemaking artwork that has just been installed on the display on screens in the Library’s foyers, and the video wall in ThinkSpace. It can also be viewed on YouTube.

Commissioned via a competitive Expression of Interest (EOI) process, the work was produced by Jazz Money, a Wiradjuri woman, poet and artist who practises across film, installation, audio and web. Jazz is the 2020 winner of the David Unaipon Award from the State Library of Queensland. Her first collection of poetry will be published by UQP in 2021.

Jazz’s beautiful silent video piece is titled YILABARA (‘now’ in Gadigal language). Conceptually, this short film is a dialogue with Gadigal Country, contrasting the University campus with the landscape of Ku-ring-gai National Park. The film elicits the relationship between the contemporary built environment and the landscape that existed for millennia before colonisation. The footage is overlaid with an Acknowledgment of Country poem written by Jazz, that appears both in Gadigal and English.

The overarching message is that no matter what interventions occupy the surface, the land on which the libraries are situated always was and always will be Gadigal Country.

Please take the time to reflect on and enjoy Jazz’s beautiful work.

Title screen of Digital Placemaking video by Jazz Money

Films At Fisher: A Very Long Engagement – 15 September

The Films At Fisher Series proudly presents:

A Very Long Engagement220px-A_Very_Long_Engagement_movie

(Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Fr 2004)

 

When: 15 September 2015; 5.30pm

Where: Fisher Library F03; Exhibition Space; Level 2

 

A remarkably rich movie, full of detail, and it grips and entertains like a detective story while never losing sight of the horrors of war.“

 – Philip French, The Observe

 

Reuniting the star and director of the much-loved Amelie (2001), this is the romantic story of a young woman (Audrey Tatou) and her relentless search for her lover who has gone missing on the battle fields of the Somme. The stories of the missing man’s comrades, told in flashback, are both dreamlike and heartbreaking.

 

For updates on social media: #FilmsAtFisher

For staff and students

Check out our other films in the series: Films At Fisher complete program

Films At Fisher: Regeneration – 8 September

The Films At Fisher Series proudly presents:

A_poster_of_the_1997_Regeneration

Regeneration

(Gillies McKinnon, UK 1997)

 

When: 8 September 2015; 5.30pm

Where: Fisher Library F03; Exhibition Space; Level 2

 

“A stirring and articulate exploration of warfare and its consequences” New York Times

 

Based on Pat Barker’s celebrated novel, Regeneration depicts a group of shell-shocked soldiers coming to terms with their horrific experiences on the battlefields of World War One. This is drama at its most intelligent; compelling, compassionate and shocking.

 

For updates on social media: #FilmsAtFisher

For staff and students

Check out our other films in the series:Films At Fisher complete program

Films At Fisher: Gallipoli – 25 August

The Films At Fisher Series proudly presents:

Gallipolli_poster

 

Gallipoli

(Peter Weir, 1981)

 

When: 25 August 2015; 5.30pm

Where: Fisher Library F03; Exhibition Space; Level 2

 

“The jewel in the crown of Australian cinema’s New Wave” – History Today

 

Gallipoli serves as Australia’s cinematic monument to the men who fought and died in the eponymous battle during World War One. Peter Weir’s deeply humanitarian work is both a stirring adventure tale and an intimate testament to courage.

 

For updates on social media: #FilmsAtFisher

For staff and students

Check out our other films in the series: Films At Fisher complete program

Films At Fisher: Lawrence of Arabia – 18 June 2015

The Films At Fisher Series proudly presents:

Lawrence of Arabia

(David Lean, 1962)

 

When: 18 August 2015; 5.30pm

Where: Fisher Library F03; Exhibition Space; Level 2

 

“What a bold, mad act of genius it was, to make “Lawrence of Arabia,” or even think that it could be made.” – Roger Ebert

 

Arguably the greatest epic ever filmed, Lawrence of Arabia is a majestic portrayal of one of Britain’s most enigmatic yet charismatic heroes. The famous shot of Omar Sharif emerging from the desert is remembered as one of the most dazzling moments in cinematic history.

 

For updates on social media: #FilmsAtFisher

For staff and students

Check out our other films in the series:Films At Fisher complete program

Films At Fisher: Paths of Glory – 11 August

The Films At Fisher Series proudly presents:

Paths of GloryStanley Cubrick_PathsofGlory

(Stanley Kubrick, 1957)

 

When: 11 August 2015; 5.30pm

Where: Fisher Library F03; Exhibition Space; Level 2

 

Someone’s got to be hurt. The only question is who.”

Kirk Douglas is magnificent in this masterpiece, a furious indictment of the futility of war. Stanley Kubrick’s relentlessly probing camera offers constant evidence of a film-maker at the height of his powers.

 

For updates on social media: #FilmsAtFisher

For staff and students

Check out our other films in the series: Films At Fisher complete program