The South Australian Museum will join NAIDOC Week (6-13 July) celebrations this year with a host of activities.
The theme for this NAIDOC Week, which marks its 50th year, is The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, recognising the achievements of the past and empowering future leaders.
In line with this theme, the South Australian Museum plans a number of activities to both acknowledge and to celebrate the ongoing knowledge and culture of Aboriginal communities, and how that may inspire future generations.
What’s on during NAIDOC week
Leading the celebrations this year is the installation of a temporary exhibition that explores Warmun art, Ride On, Shine On: The East Kimberley Art Movement. This exhibition showcases the 14 works recently acquired by the Museum, highlighting the culturally rich art movement that ignited in this region from the 1970s. Entry is free, opening in the temporary exhibition space of the Australian Aboriginal Cultural Gallery from 5July.
Throughout the week 10am-12pm, there will also be a drop-in family-friendly activity in the Museum’s Main Foyer, exploring the 2025 NAIDOC theme. Children are invited to decorate a wooden figure and place it around the Museum’s very own campfire, to show howthe next generation of Australians can stand in support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
The pop-up display featuring the mam-burrumurl wasp or ghost wasp (Gasteruption mamburrumurl), which was discovered at Leliyn [Edith Falls] in Nitmiluk National Park, Northern Territory, continues to be popular with visitors. The name captures the wasp’s distinctive ghost-like flight pattern. In the Jawoyn language, ‘mam’ means ‘ghost’ and ‘burrumurl’ means ‘wasp’. Make sure you visit the display on Level 2 in the Biodiversity Gallery.
The South Australian Museum is custodian of the largest and most comprehensive collection of Australian Aboriginal cultural material in the world, a large portion of which is spread across two floors of the East Wing of the Museum. These galleries are free to visit, and open between 10am-5pm, 363 days of the year.
Be sure to tag us on socials if you visit during NAIDOC Week.
