Balarinji and Transport for NSW partner to bring Aboriginal art and culture to Western Sydney

You may be familiar with Balarinji, the Indigenous design and strategy agency behind the powerful artworks and stories that have and currently adorn six Qantas aircraft.

The latest aircraft in the Flying Art Series, the A220 Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa, was launched in 2024.

Balarinji created the fuselage design which features the artwork of renowned Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker, and tells the Creation story of the Two Sisters.

The Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa Art Aircraft is a compelling example of how Indigenous design can influence how we think about ourselves as Australians and how we are perceived in an international context.

You may not know however, that apart from the skies, Balarinji is bringing local Aboriginal culture and connection to Country to life through Designing with Country. The collaboration with Transport for NSW, features on the M12 Motorway and precincts within the environment the road traverses.

The toll free M12 Motorway will run between the M7 Motorway at Cecil Hills and The Northern Road for about 16 kilometres and will be opened to traffic prior to the opening of the Western Sydney International Airport.

Transport for NSW, a Supply Nation member since 2017 and winner of the 2024 Government Member of the Year Award, engaged Balarinji from the early phases of the project with a detailed brief to create a framework and curate public art to embed local Aboriginal heritage and culture within the M12’s identity.

The outcome

Through ongoing co-design and extensive and inclusive collaboration with the local Western Sydney Aboriginal community and community-endorsed Aboriginal artists, Balarinji developed the M12’s distinctive narrative and design concepts as well as a public art strategy that informs the artworks throughout the corridor.

The M12 artworks are deeply connected to Country and reflect the unique cultural landscape of Western Sydney and resilience of Dharug people.

Visitors arriving at Western Sydney Airport will be welcomed to Dharug Country by a 30-metre-high sculpture telling the Dharug Dreaming story of the Great Emu constellation.

The sculpture was created in co-design by the artist cohort; Danny Eastwood, Jamie Eastwood, Danielle Mate, Jasmine Seymour, Leanne Watson, Balarinji studio, and was conceived by Balarinji lead artist on the work, Tim Moriarty.

Running alongside the M12 will be a shared path with rest stops providing shade in the form of ‘Eucalypt Canopy’ installations. These leaf canopies highlight the Aboriginal six seasons with a striking tri-colour pattern. Transport for NSW Project Director for the M12 Motorway, Deanne Forrest said since planning for the M12 started in 2015, Transport has sought to capture the rich sense of Aboriginal cultural heritage of the land on which the project is situated. Working with businesses like Balarinji, who are Supply Nation Certified, has helped capture the input of Dharug community members and artists making organisations feel assured they are achieving a more meaningful design outcome.

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