Local Darug and Darkinjung artist brings artistic magic to Gimbawali Place
We commissioned a local Darug and Darkinjung artist, Kyralee Shields, to create a breathtaking 2m x 1m painting to grace the walls of the community room at BaptistCare Gimbawali Place.
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28 August 2023
News
| Community Housing
Gimbawali Place, BaptistCare’s newest and largest community housing development of 162 apartments for seniors and single-parent families in Carlingford, is built on a historic piece of land for BaptistCare, the site of our very first aged care home, Yallambi Elderly Ladies' Home
As well as working with with local First Nations elders on the naming of this site, recently we also commissioned a local Darug and Darkinjung artist, Kyralee Shields, to create a breathtaking 2m x 1m painting to grace the walls of the community room at Gimbawali Place.
The artwork is called Gimbawali and has been created to link in with the significance of the site’s naming. Gimbawali is a Darug word from the Darug people, the traditional custodians of the land in Carlingford.
'Gimbawali' means stars/light/guiding home.
The three interlinked buildings at Gimbawali are named:
'Yudi' (to escort/or to see home), 'Birrung' (stars) and 'Nura' (country). Together they mean:
‘Everyone is welcome, under the stars, on Country’.
The central circle of the artwork represents Gimbawali Place and the three overlapping circles represent each of the community’s three buildings with stars forming a path to them. The mountains below represent the Blue Mountains which contribute to the beautiful backdrop for Carlingford and Sydney as a whole.
We asked Kyralee to incorporate elements into the artwork to match the meanings of the three buildings, Yudi, Birrung and Nura: the stars in the artwork are for Birrung, the flower symbols for Nura and the journey lines next to the stars, for Yudi.
Working with Kyralee and other First Nations consultants has been a beautiful journey of embracing the wisdom of the First Nations community, a journey that we think already has made Gimbawali Place more than just a home, but a constellation of stories and histories under the stars and a community of belonging.
Thank you, Kyralee, for your amazing artwork which residents will continue to enjoy as they use the community room with their friends and families. For more of Kyralee’s artwork, please go to https://kyraleeshieldsart.com.au/
To learn more about vacancies and applying, visit: https://baptistcare.org.au/centre/gimbawali-place