We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri, Ngurai Illum Wurrung man Neil Morris is a proud First Nations yiyirr (man) based on Kaieltheban land, Yorta Yorta woka where he was both born and raised as a descendent of Atkinson, Charles, Walker and Morgan family groups of Yorta Yorta Nation. As a creative and cultural practitioner, Neil works through mediums of song, sound, word. He is currently finalising completion of his Phd which focused on the Sovereignty of Indigenous Music practice.
As an artist from the lands of Biyala Woka (Redgum Country), Neil is known for his work as DRMNGNOW which explores and centres Indigenous rights and culture via the mediums of hip hop, experimental electronic elements and various sound design practices including Yorta Yorta language re-invigoration deeply intwined into the use of relationship and kinship notions to country and cultural practice in the now. This has been strongly present in his Ngarwu Project released over the past twelve months with Yorta Yorta language taking centrepiece on songs Ngarwu, Breathe and Garra, and within soon to be released project MINYERRA.
MINYERRA is a sound project that is built around sound as an expression that sits in the ethereal spaces between woka (country) yenbena (ancestors) and mulana (spirit) of all living beings on Yorta Yorta woka expressed through sound collages centred in atmospheric textures and pulsing rhythmic voicings.
With all of Neil's work, he is driven by aspirations of First Nations liberation and sovereignty, and has been widely known to use his platform to push and advocate for various Indigenous rights campaigns relating to arts & culture, environmental Issues and other cultural rights matters of the current state of things in so called Australia.
is outputs have led to supporting and sharing stages with the likes of Mulatu Astatke, Dead Prez, Yasiin Bey and Akala and has taken him to Canada in 2019, 2022 and 2023, and South Africa in 2023 and 2024, Zimbabwe in 2023, Ecuador in 2023, and Aotearoa in 2019 and 2022.
Rona is a proud Kaytetye woman from Central Australia who works with high impact organisations to create systems that centre First Nations people, knowledge and solutions.
Rona is the founder of Common Ground and brings 7 years
of professional experience working across First Nations organisations and not for profits. Rona was previously the Director of First Nations at YLab, a social enterprise that puts young people with diverse lived experiences at the centre of designing and developing innovative and impactful solutions
to complex social issues. Over her career, Rona has worked in policy at the Central Land Council, the Research Unit for Indigenous Languages at the University of Melbourne, Reconciliation Victoria, and the Foundation for Young Australians.In 2020, Rona was a finalist for the Victorian Young Achiever awards, was awarded a Westpac Social Change Fellowship. In 2019 Rona won a Diana Award and was named a 'Woman of the Future' by Women's Weekly.Through her work with First Nations communities across Australia, Rona aims to create future systems that centre First Nations people, knowledge and cultures.Rona currently resides in Mpartnwe on Arrernte Country.
We are a First Nations not-for-profit that exists to centre First Nations people, Country and truth-telling. We acknowledge all First Peoples of this land and celebrate their enduring connections to Country, knowledge and stories. We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors who watch over us and guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
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