We've got a range of events to celebrate NAIDOC Week including an online screening, activity sheets for the kids, a video animation of a dreamtime story, interviews with artists and links to our online collection featuring first nations artists.

NAIDOC 2021 celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year's theme, Heal Country!, calls for us all to continue to seek greater protections for Aboriginal lands, waters, sacred sites and cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction.

Liverpool has a proud First Nations heritage and history which is why NAIDOC Week holds a special place in our City's calendar. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, NAIDOC Week will be celebrated in a digital format again this year.


2021 National NAIDOC poster Maggie-Jean Douglas

Film header

Film Screening: We Don't Need A Map

DATE: Friday, 9 July 2021
TIME: 8pm
DURATION: 1hr 25 min
TICKETS: FREE but bookings essential
RATING: M15+

Please note that this event has been moved to an online screening due to the snap COVID-19 lockdown mandated by the NSW Government. You will receive an email with the event screening information closer to the date.

Brought to you by Screen NSW - NITV - Screen Australia.

This is the story of the hijacking of an Australian icon.

The Southern Cross is the most famous constellation in the Southern Hemisphere. Ever since colonisation it’s been climbed, appropriate and hotly contested for ownership by a radical range of Australian groups. But for Aboriginal people, the meaning of this heavenly body is deeply spiritual. And just about completely unknown. For a start, the Southern Cross isn’t even a cross – it’s a totem that’s deeply woven into the spiritual and practical lives of Aboriginal people.

Now one of Australia’s leading filmmakers, Warwick Thornton, tackles this fiery subject head-on in a bold and poetic essay-film. ‘We Don’t Need a Map’ challenges us to consider the place of the Southern Cross in the Australian psyche.

Imbued with Warwick’s cavalier spirit, this is a fun and thought-provoking ride through Australia’s cultural and political landscape.

Click here to learn more about the film

kids and families

Click on the images to download a printable version. If you're unable to visit us in person, we recommend showing kids the Koori Floor artwork by using our Google 3D walkthrough.

The Koori Floor is a special artwork at Casula Powerhouse created by Brisbane-based Waanyi artist, Judy Watson and an amazing team of Indigenous Artists including: Gordon Hookey, Cheryl Robinson, Vivian Scott and Brook Andrew. The Koori Floor is a reminder that we are always walking lightly on Aboriginal land.

Plus check out this great animation of a dreamtime story we made last year with Paul Teerman who shares a special Dreaming Story about the Butu Wugun (Black Crow) and the Wilbung (Magpie).

Check out this great interview about the  Koori Floor with Waanyi artist Judy Watson. Created in 1994 Judy Watson worked on the piece with artists who have since gone on to great international acclaim including Gordon Hookey, Cheryl Robinson, Vivian Scott and Brook Andrew. It is an artwork that is now viewed as internationally significant and is a fundamental part of the heritage of Casula Powerhouse Liverpool. Our building and programs were built on Aboriginal land. Always was, always will be.

Plus when restrictions ease you will be able to visit the Liverpool City Library for a great exhibition.

Friday 25 June – Wednesday 11 August

To celebrate NAIDOC Week 2021, Liverpool City Library in partnership with Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre presents an exhibition featuring artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists collected over the last 30 years through the annual Mil-Pra AECG Art Prize.

The artworks capture this year’s NAIDOC theme Heal Country! encouraging audiences to reflect on the importance of respecting, protecting, and celebrating the culture and Country of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.