The importance of listening to Aboriginal voices is highlighted in new an immersive sound and light installation at The Sydney Festival. First unveiled in 2018, BLAK BOX is an innovative sonic experience based on the First Peoples concept of ‘deep listening’, a conscious practice that balances hearing stories with the quiet moments and silence in between. For The Sydney Festival, Urban Theatre Projects and Blacktown Arts presents a brand new program curated by Daniel Browning, Four Winds, an intimate listening experience that brings together the voices of Aboriginal elders and young people from Blacktown, Australia’s most densely populated First Peoples community.

The 55-minute immersive performance installation features the voices 94-year-old elder Uncle Wes Marne, and Senior Darug Elder Aunty Edna Watson in dialogue with teens Savarna Russell and Shaun Millwood. The artists share their experiences, challenges, wisdom and draw on the oral history and speculative future for Blacktown and Greater Western Sydney. With Aboriginal teenagers and elders historically some of the most ignored people in the country, Four Winds gives these important voices a place to be heard.

Emma Donovan, a songwoman who comes from a long line of music creators in the Blacktown area, will respond to these stories in song, alongside violinist Eric Avery.

Designed by award-winning architect Kevin O’Brien with a hope to convey ‘an idea of contemporary Aboriginality’, BLAK BOX elevates Aboriginal voices in a tranquil, contemplative setting. Four Winds is a must-see poignant and urgent work at this year’s Sydney Festival.

For bookings and more information click here! 

Four Winds at BLAK BOX
January 9th-February 2nd
6pm, 7.15pm, 8.30pm
Blacktown Showground 
Richmond Road
Blacktown, New South Wales