As students and staff at Matthew Flinders Anglican College join in celebrating National Reconciliation Week (NRW) from 27 May to 3 June, the College has launched a new short video animation (see below), voiced by Wakka Wakka artist and Old Flinderian David Williams, that brings the College’s reconciliation artwork to life.
College Principal Michelle Carroll said the animation project was part of the College’s commitment to reconciliation.
“Our Flinders Reconciliation Action Plan is an opportunity for our community to visibly and authentically embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in our school’s learning programs and environment,” Ms Carroll said.
“Through storytelling, this animation shares the depth and meaning woven through the layers of our College’s reconciliation artwork," she said.
“It provides our College community with a visual mode of communicating the traditions and stories that have existed here for generations.
“The animation will be viewed in our classrooms and staff rooms and at events and celebrations to help our students, staff, families and the wider community to listen, learn, understand and connect on the journey to reconciliation.”
In 2022, the College engaged Mr David Williams, as the founder of Gilimbaa creative design agency, to create a bespoke artwork that represented the College's past, present and future.
The artwork “Surrounded by our past, united by our future” was developed by Mr Williams and presented to the Flinders community in March 2023.
“To come back to the College 22 years later to bring this story to life has been a privilege,”Mr Williams said.
“When I was at school, reconciliation wasn’t the movement it is today, so to be a part of the journey of connecting Indigenous culture to non-Indigenous students, school staff, the wider community and the nation has been very special.
“Having worked with some of the largest organisations and brands in the country to interpret their reconciliation journeys through the power and process of creativity and story, it has been a humble experience to go full circle, bringing it back to where it all started.”
To learn more about the College’s reconciliation journey, visit https://www.mfac.edu.au/community/reconciliation
