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Dreamtime Yarning Circle

Immerse yourself in the heart of Northshore with the Dreamtime Yarning Circle, a culturally vibrant space inspired by the Brisbane River's Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime story. Enrich yourself in storytelling, celebrate Indigenous culture, and collaborate with co-tenants in a timeless, educational experience. Engage, learn, and connect with Country like never before.

Skills Required:

Robust knowledge of Aboriginal culture, customs and heritage

Excellent creative writing skills

3D modelling and visualisation

Architectural design

Marketing and PR knowledge

Community engagement and facilitation

AI image generated by DeepAI https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/text2img

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Budget

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Feasibility, Sustainability & Enduring Significance

This project is carefully designed with economic, social, and environmental sustainability at the forefront. The Yarning Circle specifically target's the brief's goal of attracting visitors during daylight hours, providing educational opportunities for school groups and tourists seeking to deepen their connection to First Nation's history and culture. While Eat Street serves as the nucleus of Northshore, the Yarning Circle provides a serene, reflective space that appeals to a diverse audience, specifically progressive young people, creatives, and educational groups. Thereby, addressing the brief's emphasis on attracting repeat visitors and sustaining long-term interest in the site. Furthermore, the design's simplicity allows for future enhancements and adaptations, ensuring that the Yarning Circle remains a vibrant and relevant facet of Northshore's landscape over time.

Budget and Timeframe

Moreover, the Yarning Circle is designed to be a cost-effective project that adheres to the client’s budget of $70,000. The Yarning Circle is environmentally sustainable, incorporating Indigenous knowledge of land stewardship and using materials that have a minimal environmental impact. By using locally sourced, sustainable materials, the concept is not only feasible but also ensures that the project can be delivered within the desired timeframe. The focus on sustainability also means that the Yarning Circle can be maintained at a low cost, with minimal ongoing expenses.

Economic and Social Sustainability

By engaging with Traditional Custodians throughout the process, the Yarning Circle not only ensures cultural authenticity but also creates meaningful economic opportunities for First Nations people. This approach fosters a model of economic empowerment that aligns with broader goals of social sustainability. By involving Traditional Custodians in a way that goes beyond mere consultation, the project supports the long-term viability of First Nations cultural practices and knowledge-sharing, ensuring they are preserved and passed down through generations.

Enduring Significance

The cultural significance of the Yarning Circle ensures that it will be a lasting feature of Northshore. By embedding the Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime story and First Nations storytelling traditions, the Yarning Circle will serve as a permanent reminder of the site’s rich history and cultural heritage. This enduring significance not only aligns with EDQ's objectives, but also enhances the cultural landscape of Northshore, ensuring its relevance and importance for future generations.

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Originality and Site-Specificity

While traditional yarning circles are often used as spaces for communal gathering, storytelling, and cultural exchange, this concept stands out by incorporating site-specific elements that deeply resonate with the history and environment of Northshore. Unlike more conventional yarning circles, which might focus broadly on Indigenous culture, this Yarning Circle is uniquely centred around the Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime story, a powerful and significant narrative that is intricately tied to the land and waterways of Brisbane.

Cultural Depth and Authenticity

The Yarning Circle is not just a physical space, but a living tribute to the Turrbal and Yuggera people's cultural heritage. By embedding the Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime story into the design, the concept honours Indigenous storytelling traditions, whilst grounding the project in the unique cultural context of the site. Unlike static art installations or event-based activations, the Yarning Circle is designed to be a dynamic space where ongoing cultural exchange and learning can occur. This adaptability ensures that the space remains relevant and engaging over time, providing a continuous opportunity for visitors to connect with Indigenous culture in a meaningful way.

Educational and Community-Centred Focus

The Yarning Circle is designed as a multifaceted space that fosters community building and education, offering students and visitors a deeper understanding of First Nations cultures. This educational focus not only aligns with the brief's desire for community engagement, but also differentiates the project from more conventional art installations. The interactive nature of the Yarning Circle, where visitors can actively participate in storytelling, adds an immersive dimension that is rare among other site features. This hands-on engagement offers a unique visitor experience, differentiating it from more passive installations.

Furthermore, the concept also fosters collaboration among Workshop co-tenants, creating a shared space where diverse groups can connect and engage. This promotes interactivity between the site's creative and business communities, addressing the brief's goal of connecting the wider community to Northshore's innovation precinct.

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Concept Refinement

After estimating the costs of shade sails using Greenline's online calculator, I realised they exceed the project's 70K budget, and will be removed. However, the storytelling poles will still be utilised. Additionally, the benches around the circumference of the design will be removed and alternatively replaced with planter boxed only, prompting visitors to utilise the centre seats. Below indicates an updated design, delivering a comprehensive overview of the project.

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Concept Drawings

The following sketches detail a rough outline of the yarning circle, aiming to incorporate placemaking principles relevant to the rich Turrbal and Yuggera history of the Northshore site and its waterfront location.

The rainbow serpent design directly relates to the Dreaming Serpent of the Brisbane River, a dreamtime story celebrated by local Aboriginal tribes and honoured in ceremony by the Turrbal people. The planter and shade sail aim to make the space feel inviting and warm, adding lush character to the predominately concrete space.

Various plaques will be positioned on the shade sail poles, narrating the dreamtime story of the Dreaming Serpent. Traditional Custodians will be engaged in the entire process, ensuring their voice, agency and perspectives are respected and incorporated throughout. The Rainbow Serpent artwork and the yarning circle itself serves as a medium for storytelling, education and economic stimulus for First Nations people.

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Stakeholders & Target Audience

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Critical Reflection: Evaluating Design Proposals

Both design concepts effectively connect to Country and serve as powerful storytelling methods for First Nations people. However, the art installation ideas for Maritime Green, while unique, are extravagant and pose budgetary and feasibility challenges. This raises concerns about their potential for repeat visitation, as the high costs would make ongoing renewal difficult. On the other hand, the Yarning Circle offers educational value for students and fosters community building and collaboration among Workshop co-tenants. However, its design would benefit from further refinement to enhance its uniqueness and originality. After considering the strengths and weaknesses of both designs, it is clear that the Yarning Circle is conceptually stronger. Integrating elements from the Maritime Green concept could further elevate its placemaking potential. Additionally, incorporating the Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime story into the design and storytelling aspects of the Yarning Circle will ensure the concept is original, feasible, and sustainable.

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Reference

Acacia Collard & Joondalup Education Support Centre - Yarning Circle https://www.joondalupesc.wa.edu.au/our-facilities

Arterra Design & St. Dominics College - Yarning Circle https://arterra.com.au/projects-landscape/st-dominics-yarning-circle-school_childcare

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Reference

Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer ‘Wardapi Jukurrpa (Goanna Dreaming) – Yarripilangu’ https://warlu.com/artwork/1586_24/342769/

Seyi Adelekun 'Plastic Pavilion' https://www.forestofdean-sculpture.org.uk/foresttoforest

Davit Nava ‘Historias de Estambres’ https://davitnava.com/work/historias-de-estambres/

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Reference

Sebastien Preschoux Thread Installations https://www.sebastienpreschoux.com/

Audrey Brumby ‘Ngura Tjuta Munu Tjukula Tjuta’ https://artark.com.au/products/audrey-brumby-ngura-tjuta-munu-tjukula-tjuta-91x66cm

Rini Tiger ‘Ngintaka Tjukurpa (Perentie Man Creation Story)’ https://www.outstation.com.au/art-centres/tjala-arts/

David T Waller ‘Car Atlas-Rainbow’ https://www.flickr.com/photos/53380495@N02/4994543292

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Cultural Significance of the Brisbane River

The Dreaming Serpent

According to many Brisbane Aboriginal families, the Brisbane River was once much narrower. It gained its current shape when the Dreaming Rainbow Serpent slithered down from the Great Divide and along the Brisbane valley to lay its eggs, gouging out the current course. The gigantic snake track became the river, with water following after the Dreaming-Ancestor. Eventually, the Dreaming Serpent reached Moreton Bay, where its eggs became the people and the animals.

The Dreaming Serpent of the Brisbane River continued to be honoured in ceremonies. The Turrbal tribe thought that when a rainbow was seen in the sky, its stem or end had become entangled in the riverbed. With great ceremony, they would proceed to a certain part of the Brisbane River and cut the rainbow loose again (Kerkhove, 2020).

Ideas based on Key Themes

Dreaming Serpent – artworks, sculptures or designs with reference to snakes – connects with the Brisbane River and Northshore’s waterfront location.

Rainbows – vibrant colour palette, resonates with Aboriginal history and, more implicitly, the LGBTQ+ community – aligns with EDQ’s progressive, energetic, and youth-focused target audience.

Utilise natural light – suncatchers, light-focused art installations.

Refracts light and casts rainbows onto the ground – appealing for young people, families, and creatives.

Reflective materials – mirrors, mosaics, beads, stained glass.

Sustainability – repurposed items i.e.,

Utilise reshaped plastic bottles – raises environmental awareness, waterfront specific.

Woven fibre / textile art – shaped as a Rainbow Serpent – doubles as hammock-style seating for visitors.

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Northshore's Aboriginal History

Much of what is now the North Shore Hamilton area was known to Aboriginal people as Yerrol or Yurrol. This term referred to a rainforest vine used in hut-building and as a general fiber or rope. In the 19th century, Yerrol was described as a ‘scrub’ — a riverine rainforest pocket. This area, along with the fishery below it extending towards Breakfast Creek, served as the towrie, the primary hunting and resource area for one of Brisbane’s largest clusters of Aboriginal camps (Kerkhove, 2021).

Fauna – wallabies, pigeon, Australian bush rats, black snakes, grey-headed flying foxes, bush turkeys, wompoo fruit-doves and topknot pigeons.

Flora – vines, palms, cedars, pines, orchids, and figs.

Ideas based on Key Themes

Rainforest – revegetation, floral designs, traditional bush tucker – mural, community garden, vine sculptures

Black bean tree – empty bean pods were used to make children’s toy canoes – playground (incorporates waterways & youth-focused target audience)

Basketry – weaving, textiles – crafting workshops using natural and recycled materials – “how-to” via QR code

Campsite – “yarning circles” – place of gathering, sharing wisdom and culture.

Yarning Circle at Charles Sturt Children's Centre

“The purpose of a Yarning Circle is for all people to be able to speak and to be heard in a safe and respectful environment on equal footing with all speakers and listeners."