FIRST NATIONS EXPERIMENTAL SOUND COMMISSION
Commissioned by The Substation and Liquid Architecture
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.
This initiative is generously funded by the City of Melbourne.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
About Liquid Architecture
Liquid Architecture (LA) is Australia’s leading organisation for artists working with sound and listening. LA is based on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, at the Collingwood Yards art precinct. Their program sits at the intersection of contemporary art and experimental music, expressed through a range of presentation, publishing, research and commissioning activities.
Grounded locally but working globally, LA is a dedicated platform for artists engaged in experimental sound practice, sustained and energised through conversation and research, and realised in collaboration with people in our community and beyond.
About The Substation
The Substation champions contemporary and experimental arts. Housed inside a former industrial building steeped in the rich history of Melbourne’s inner west, The Substation is an arts destination unlike any other in Australia. From our local community in Newport to our national and global network of collaborators and cultural partners, we celebrate artists and ideas that encourage transformative conversations between wide-ranging audiences. Through our ever-evolving program and artist-led initiatives, we support the development of ambitious and inclusive works that defy simple categorisation.
Amplifying artworks that transcend form, The Substation’s multi-artform spaces are illuminated with the most urgent contemporary arts to inspire us to refigure problematic histories, imagine possible futures, and forge new connections. The Substation is the nation’s leader in multi-arts and experimental practice. We connect our continent’s most diverse communities in Naarm/Melbourne’s west to the world through a program of international, national and local presentation, development and engagement opportunities.