Zali Morgan with Centre for Stories
Artist: Zali Morgan
Location: Goolugatup Heathcote Reserve and Derbal Yerrigan
Project Partner: Centre for Stories
Work In Progress: The conceptual and cultural centre of Zali’s project is Kooyagoordup. Kooyagoordup was not only an island in the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) but now a memory held within the river system; a site of deep significance. Zali asks: What happens when we know our neighbour not only as a person, but as a place, a memory, a river, an island? Zali will explore the layered histories of islands as places of separation, refuge, transformation and return.
About the artist:
Zali Morgan is a Noongar woman with ancestral connections to Whadjuk, Balladong, and Wilman Boodjar, born and raised near Wooditchup on Wardandi Boodjar, now based near Boorloo. Morgan’s practice spans printmaking, textiles, sculpture, curating, and writing. Often questioning notions of place, Morgan’s practice engages with decolonial art and discourse within Australia through both figurative and abstract representations of her surroundings and history. In her printmaking, Morgan looks at iconic buildings and spaces within Boorloo and the Noongar region and attempts to uncover their significance for the Noongar people and challenge colonial ideologies tied to Australia's language. In 2023, Morgan won the City of South Perth Emerging Art Prize and exhibited in REVEALED (2023) at Fremantle Art Centre. Her work and curation have been shown at Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Art and Culture, Lake Macquarie, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Fremantle Arts Centre, John Curtin Gallery, Edith Cowan University Gallery, and Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, as well as at the National Art School in Sydney, NSW.
About the project partner:
Centre for Stories is a not-for-profit, community-led literary arts and cultural organisation based in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia. It uses storytelling to build skills, boost confidence, and bring people together. With a strong focus on cultural and social diversity, Centre for Stories supports underrepresented voices to share their experiences and express their identity through writing programs, oral storytelling workshops, mentoring, and live events. It also provides storytelling services for organisations and businesses, helping them engage and influence through authentic, impactful narratives.
Boorloo Bidi, Zali Morgan, 2023, indigo and rust dyed calico, Sashiko thread, pine, 185cm x 165 cm; 215 x 180 cm; 190 x 170 cm. Photograph Rebecca Mansell.
