Aboriginal Murals: Working in Genuine Collaboration with Indigenous Artists

We don’t paint “Aboriginal-style” artwork in-house. When a mural project calls for Aboriginal cultural content, we bring in real Indigenous artists to create or co-create that work — so what goes on the wall is authentic, not an imitation.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout this nation and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging.

Our Approach

Over several years of school, hospital and public mural projects, we’ve built working relationships with Indigenous artists who we bring in specifically for the Aboriginal cultural elements of a design — rather than attempting to replicate that work ourselves.

01

We collaborate, we don’t imitate

Aboriginal cultural motifs and storytelling in our murals are created by the Indigenous artists we work with, not by our general mural team.

02

Design developed through consultation

The Indigenous elements of a mural are designed in consultation with the collaborating artist, so the imagery and story are theirs.

03

Artists credited on their work

Where an Indigenous artist has contributed to a project, we credit them for that contribution rather than presenting it as generic in-house work.

Featured Collaborations

Two recent projects show how this works in practice.

Indigenous collaboration mural at Madang Ave Public School

School Mural

Madang Ave Public School

In collaboration with Indigenous artist Michael Fardon

As part of a wider mural program across the school, a dedicated Indigenous Collaboration Mural was created with Michael Fardon, featuring a bat, owl and possum representing different classes within the school. The design embeds cultural storytelling developed through consultation with Michael, strengthening cultural representation on campus while connecting students to identity and story.

View the full project →

School Mural

Rooty Hill Public School

In collaboration with Burruguu Art

For a nature-inspired mural featuring a Blue Fairy Wren, kangaroos and a Rainbow Lorikeet, our team member from Burruguu Art incorporated Indigenous art elements into the design — adding animal footprints within tree silhouettes, placed along the classroom lines as a visual guide for students lining up.

View the full project →

Rooty Hill Public School mural created with Burruguu Art

Other Schools & Sites We’ve Collaborated On

Beyond these two featured projects, we’ve worked with the same collaborating artists on Indigenous mural elements at:

Birrong Public School mural program

Birrong Public SchoolWith Burruguu Art
Lethbridge Park Public SchoolWith Burruguu Art
Kingsgrove Public SchoolWith Burruguu Art
Old Guildford Public SchoolWith Burruguu Art
Berala Public SchoolWith Burruguu Art
Royal North Shore HospitalWith Michael Fardon

Common Questions

Do you create Aboriginal-style art yourselves?

No. For any project involving Aboriginal cultural content or motifs, we bring in an Indigenous artist to create or co-create that work, rather than having our general mural team produce it.

Which artists do you usually collaborate with?

We’ve worked with Burruguu Art and with artist Michael Fardon on a number of school and public mural projects — see the featured projects above.

Can you organise this for our school or council mural?

Yes. Tell us about the site and what you have in mind, and we’ll talk through how a collaboration with an Indigenous artist could work for your project.

How does this fit with your other mural services?

An Indigenous collaboration is usually one element within a broader mural — for example alongside wildlife or landscape artwork — rather than the whole project. See our school mural and portfolio pages for the wider context.

Planning a Mural with Indigenous Cultural Content?

Get in touch and we’ll talk through how a genuine collaboration with an Indigenous artist could work for your school, council or site.

What Our Clients Say

Aboriginal collaborations are an important part of our mural practice — see more of our work.

“

The Boys at Blackbook Ink designed and executed a massive superhero mural on one of our workshop walls. To say we're happy is an understatement, with the finished product surpassing our expectations. And not only is the work awesome, they were professional, helpful and friendly. Thank you Boys, we're going to enjoy your work for many many years to come!

Mandy HaddonChief Fluid Systems
“

Thank you to Brode and your team for a fantastic design the feed back has been incredible. I found Blackbook Ink to be very professional, your understanding from the initial brief to the finished product was outstanding the final design was exactly what we were looking for. I have every confidence in recommending Blackbook Ink to anyone looking for a design in Street Graffiti.

Antoinette DiPietroBostik

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