In the first of its kind nationally, the inaugural ‘Listening to Country — First Nations Experimental Sound Commission’ provides critical support and a unique pathway for one First Nations sound artist to develop a new sound work, co-commissioned by Liquid Architecture and The Substation. The program offers significant creative and financial support to the selected artist and aims to restore the balance of access and visibility in experimental sound for First Nations artists. Realised in a premiere season at The Substation in 2025, this initiative offers the selected artist a unique opportunity to develop new creative languages and forge new creative futures through experimental sound. We’re thrilled to announce that Anaiwan gedyura artist Gabi Briggs is the selected artist for this inaugural program pilot.

Gabi Briggs is a research-based artist, weaver, and community organiser. Her practice reflects a commitment to returning back to Indigenous knowledges specifically through the walking of Country and embracing Anaiwan principles and ways of being and knowing, grounding her practice in place. Briggs engages with the complexities of race, power, and truth-telling through her art, seeking to amplify Indigenous sovereignty and enact self-determination with an emphasis on slow, considered and meaningful practice.

As part of her PhD research, Briggs is undertaking a 100km walk on Country. This commission allows her to sonically explore this journey, using field recordings and oral histories. Briggs’s sonic exploration will highlight the interconnectedness and resilience within the Anaiwan Skin System, extending on her Grandmother’s research into Anaiwan kinship. By contrasting these with archival recordings of colonial narratives, the exploration prompts reflection on settler colonialism and the need to eliminate the ‘native’ to maintain colonial power structures.

This work forms part of Gabi Briggs’ ongoing project at West Space as part of her 2024 West Space Commission.