Our 2025 Wathaurong NAIDOC Week Artwork has been selected!

Congratulations to young Ollie Hickey, whose deadly piece of artwork titled “Pakarr (In the Middle) has been chosen to represent this year’s NAIDOC theme; The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy.

Ollie is a proud Gulidjan artist who many of our Community members will know. It’s fitting that this year’s artwork is represented by the Next Generation!

When describing his artwork and how it fits into this year’s NAIDOC theme, here’s what Ollie had to say:

“Pakarr is about growing up in the middle, in a town that has Wadawurrung Country to the east where the sun rises and my Gulidjan Country to the west where the sun sets. I cross the Barwon River every day, multiple times the blue in the image represents the waters I cross and communities we live in, this water flows from Barramunga in Gadubanud Country all the way to the Ocean at Barwon Heads and connects us all. The red represents the Volcanic Plains shared across the region and the ways the old people used the landscapes to care for us and lay foundations for caring for future generations like me. The orange is to remind me of having somewhere to belong in those mountains and plains as taroo the moon rises and our moietie cockatoo’s ngayook and ponponpooramook sing us to sleep in noisy ways every night.

This years NAIDOC theme is about Strength, Vision and Legacy and you can’t have any of that without Kin, Country and Community. this artwork is special for me because Gerard Black (Worimi Man & Colac Community) helped me make my story to digital art and taught me about framing, printing and then about exhibitions and commissions. Thank you to Wathaurong Co-op for helping me learn more about artwork and ways it can be used. Happy NAIDOC”

Ollie’s artwork will be featured on our Wathaurong promotional material for all of our NAIDOC Week events, and it will also be the feature artwork on this year’s NAIDOC tee.

If you’re keen to get your hands on this year’s tee, make sure you put in your pre-order now, it’s live on our website here: https://wathaurong.org.au/…/pre-order-wathaurong-2025…/