In the lead up to the 2022 NAIDOC Week celebrations, Cooleman Court was very privileged to have a beautiful wall art mural installed at the Northern Entrance by local artist Eddie Longford of Eddie Longford Contemporary Indigenous Art. Eddie is a proud Wiradjuri man, born and raised on Ngunnawal country, and for years a was a local at Cooleman Court Shopping Centre.

The wall mural is located on the right hand side of the Northern Entrance and measures 6m(l) x 2m(h). Each element of the mural is symbolic and when combined, tells the special story of Cooleman Court being an inclusive and safe place for the whole local community whilst paying respect to the traditional owners of the country that it is built on.

The Centre

The centre circle is a meeting place and represents the Cooleman Court precinct.

The U-Shapes

Coming from the centre are connection lines leading to u-shapes. The u-shape shows from above the imprint shape that someone leaves on the ground when sitting cross-legged. The u-shapes are facing in and out to represent coming and going along with different shapes and sizes to represent inclusiveness, with all walks of life visiting Cooleman Court.

The Background Design

The top of the painting represents the Canberra sky, moving down to the ridges and mountains that surround Weston Creek. Further down is the Murrumbidgee which is significant to the Ngunnawal people as it was traditionally used as a huge resource for food and other natural elements. The circles towards the bottom of the mural represent community, such as homes.

The Crows

The crows on either side of the mural represent ‘Yukembruk Place’ which means ‘Place of the Crows’. Yukembruk Place is a traditional Indigenous name gifted to Cooleman Court by Billy ‘T’ Tompkins during a special NAIDOC Week smoking ceremony in 2020. Visit here to find out more about the naming of Yukembruk Place.

Free Kids Art Workshops

Come and join Dreamtime Connections to paint your own wooden boomerang.

Learn about traditional Indigenous symbols along with their meaning to create your own story through art. 

• Dates: Fri 8 July
• Time: 10am – 1pm
• Location: Level 1, near Aldi
• Cost: Free

No bookings required

 About Dreamtime Connections
Dreamtime connections offers cultural themed workshops, walks and talks, consultations within schools and community in and around the ACT. Dreamtime Connections has a strong focus on the indigenous use of plants in foods and medicines and helps schools bring these plants to light with the construction of Indigenous Bush Tucker/medicine gardens.

Poster competition

Come and decorate a 2022 NAIDOC Week poster for your chance to WIN a Kids Book Pack!

The Kids Book Pack includes:

? Welcome to Country by Lisa Kennedy

? Awesome Emu by Gregg Dreise

? Silly Birds by Gregg Dreise

? Cunning Crow by Gregg Dreise

To Enter:

? Visit our NAIDOC Week Workshop space located on Level 1 from Tues 5 July – Thu 7 July between 10am – 4pm daily

? Collect and decorate your 2022 NAIDOC Week poster (we will have everything you need to get creative!)

? Scan the QR code located within the workshop space and upload a picture of your design

Entries close 11:59pm Thursday 7 July 2022. T&C’s apply, for T&C’s visit here

For more information on sponsored partnerships, click here.