NSW Grounded; First Nations Design Talkie Talk

Grounded - a yarning day for mob telling their stories in human constructed environments.

Join us for a First Nations designed and led day of yarns and workshops that unpack Designing with Country and Country Centred Design practices with leading figures in the field contributing their expertise for the day!

Sessions are designed to be casual and interactive between presenters and participants to create space for honest conversations about the brilliant, boring and mind boggling corners of our industry.

Open to AILA, AIA and PIA members and all interested First Nations mob, this program aims to take down the barriers and offer space for industry professionals to get into what really matters to us, from where we stand.

Date: Wednesday, 29^th October 2025

Time : 8:30am arrival, for a 9am start to 4:30pm

Location: National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE), 166-180 George Street, Redfern NSW 2016

Price: Tickets: Students $80, Members $250, Non-Members $300 registration via AILA

Community: Contact for special pricing

Event details:

MC – Coby Edgar

Welcome – Uncle Chicka Madden

Intro - David Moir (Moir studio)

Keynote – Nicole Monks (mili mili)

Designing with Country – Bernadette (B) Hardy (Hardyhardy)

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP)- Arts law

Morning tea

Leanne Tobin – Workshop

Clarence Slockee

Lunch – Optional walking tour Nicole Monks & Leanne Tobin – Redfern + Waterloo station

Maddison Gibbs (Madwings), Nicole Monks (mili mili), Deborah Lennis (Inner West Council), Bernadette (B) Hardy (Hardyhardy) –Breathe - Yeo -Park Case study - Workshop

Jason Wing & Maddison Gibbs (Madwings) – Best practice - Workshop

Afternoon tea

Wrap up/yarn up – Coby Edgar, Nicole Monks & David Moir

Networking at Arcadia, Redfern

Image credit: Scott Cameron

Image credit: Jana Osvald

Please note event time zone is set to (UTC+10:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney. Please check your local time to account for any daylight saving changes or regional differences.

Registration

Type	Details	Price
Members	AILA	$250
Students	AILA	$80
Non-member	Non-member price. Become a member.	$300

Nicole Monks

Yamaji Wajarri, Dutch and English
Nicole is Founding Director of mili mili and blackandwhite creative. Her practice is defined by an award-winning Community+Country approach that transforms design through deep listening, collaboration, and First Nation-led practice.

Nicole is our Keynote Speaker and will be leading the Redfern/Waterloo Public Art Walking Tour.

Maddison Gibbs

Gunu Baakandji
Maddison is an artist and activist focusing on contemporary intergenerational stories, women’s narratives, caring for Country and First Nations futures. She will presenting the Case Study Breathe -Aboriginal survival memorial Yeo Park, Ashfield Collab with Nicole Monks + Aboriginal Community and knowledge holders
Client – Inner West Council

Coby Ann Edgar

Coby Edgar is a curator and proud Larrakia, Jingili, and Anglo woman from the Northern Territory, currently liv-ing and working on Gadigal Country. From 2022–23 Coby was Curator, Strategic Projects First Nations at Pow-erhouse Museum, Sydney and i\Creative Advisor and Strategic Partnerships at Agency Projects, Naarm/Melbourne.

Coby Edgar is a multi-racial, queer, cis-female curator and writer. Born in the Northern Territory Coby has been living and working in Gadigal Country for over 6 years and has over a decade of experience working in art gal-leries across the Country. Coby will be the MC for this event.

Leanne Tobin

Dharug. Leanne Tobin is a passionate multi-disciplinary artist and educator, residing on the land of her Dharug ancestors, the traditional custodians of the Greater Sydney region. Leanne often works collaboratively, using her art prac-tice to tell local histories and stories.

Through her art, she seeks to evoke in others, an environmental conscience and respect towards Ngurra (Coun-try) and acknowledgement of those who cared for Her. Leanne’s work seeks to encourage an open and honest dialogue about the past and to nurture, respect and care for Country while also conveying the intrinsic spiritual connection Aboriginal people have with the land; a connection often hidden beneath the concrete and tar of the city and suburbs. 2025

Bernadette (B) Hardy

Haraug, Gamilaraay. Bernadette (B) Hardy is a Dharug and Gamilaraay woman with Irish and English roots, and mother of three little people.
A qualified practising spatial designer, B lives, works, and plays on Dharug Country.
As founder of hardyhardy and Associate Professor at UNSW, B brings over 20 years of experience in designing, teaching, and communicating Country visually.
Guided by Country and belonging, B’s work creates spaces of care, connection, and love for all beings.

Jason Wing

Calling into question our understanding of history and of our current socio-political reality, Jason Wing repurposes everyday objects and imagery, creating works that are both visually confronting and deceptively simple. Jason is also well known for numerous major public art commissions including his project; In Between Two Worlds; commissioned by the City of Sydney for Little Hay Street, Sydney; his large scale sculpture, The Serpent, located on the Bay Run in Drummoyne, and his most recent large scale work, Gadigal Mural, for the Australian Design Centre in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

Deborah Lennis

Deborah is a results-focused Aboriginal professional with strength in policies and strategies. She is a proactive leader with strengths in communication and collaboration. Deborah has worked extensively with all business units across Local Government Councils, especially the Strategic & Social Planning and Environment & Sustainability teams. She worked for many years as an Educator/ Tour Guide for Royal Botanical Gardens – Sydney & Mt Annan and Centennial Parklands. In 1998 she led and provided artwork for the ‘Gurrawal Trail’ within Centennial Parklands.