NAIDOC: The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy

NAIDOC: The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, celebrates a powerful milestone: 50 years of honoring and elevating Indigenous voices, culture, and resilience. These exhibitions will revisit the iconic posters from all of the past NAIDOC week. 

This year’s theme for NAIDOC week The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, celebrates a powerful milestone: 50 years of honoring and elevating Indigenous voices, culture, and resilience.

The NAIDOC (National Aborigines Day Observance Committee) journey began as a movement for recognition and rights, sparked by Indigenous communities who saw a future built on justice and equality. Over the decades, it has grown into a powerful national celebration, a testament to the enduring strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As we commemorate this 50-year legacy, we also look forward, honoring the next generation who will carry the torch, shaping the future with courage, insight, and deep respect for our roots. Guided by the wisdom of our Elders and the groundwork laid by our forebears, each NAIDOC Week reinforces our vision for an Australia where Indigenous voices are not only heard but lead the way.

In celebration of this milestone, we will be revisiting the iconic posters from all of the past NAIDOC weeks, displaying them in two locations, Yalawanyi Ganya, and Forster Civic Centre, on display from 25 June to 1 August 2025. 

Nation Dance 2019 - on exhibition at Yalawanyi Ganya 25 June to 11 July 2025. 

Keisha Mitchell Taking Our Ancestors’ Dreams To The Future  

Keisha Mitchell is a proud Biripi woman from Taree with a passion for photography, film and storytelling. This powerful photographic exhibition celebrates the enduring legacy of the Biripi people. Through striking images, it honours the strength, culture, and dreams of Biripi ancestors—carried forward by today's generation and into the future. A moving tribute to legacy, connection, identity, and Country.

Keisha exhibition will be on display at the Manning Regional Art Gallery from 1 July to 12 July 2025 and Yalawanyi Ganya from 14 July to 1 August 2025. 

The Coastline Bank Community Foundation is proud to support local Indigenous artists across the Manning, Hastings, and Macleay Valleys through a new scholarship initiative, coinciding with NAIDOC Week 2025