Coomaditchie: The Art of Place
Experience community life by the ocean through the works of First Nations artists in Coomaditchie: The Art of Place at the Museum of Sydney. These loving and lyrical artworks, which include paintings, ceramics and screen-prints, speak of life in and around the settlement of Coomaditchie, its history, ecology and local Dreaming stories.
The exhibition celebrates the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation in 1993. The corporation provides support and services to the broader community and to the people of the Coomaditchie settlement, located at Coomaditchie Lagoon in the city of Wollongong, the centre of the Illawarra region of NSW. Also on display are original historical documents and a short film that reveal the social and political narrative of the founding of the current Coomaditchie settlement, which followed a long campaign for housing for local Aboriginal people.
Today, the work of the Coomaditchie artists can be found all over the Illawarra – in community spaces, buildings, landscapes, streets and galleries. A selection of photographs shows the depth and the beauty of their contributions to the public art landscape. This timely exhibition offers a glimpse into the political, social and artistic activities of a very special place.
Exhibition events
![Coomaditchie: The Art of Place marketing photoshoot](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/07/befcbda0ae9f42beae568f2ebf18033a.jpg)
Past event
Members Hour: Museum of Sydney
Welcome to Members Hour at the Museum of Sydney, providing members with exclusive access to our properties
Wednesday 28 August 9am–10am
Museum of Sydney
Corner Phillip and Bridge streets, Sydney NSW 2000- Cafe
- Wheelchair accessible
30 March 2024 – 2 February 2025
Read more
![Between the mountains and the sea, Lorraine Brown and Narelle Thomas, 2008. Photo © Bernie Fisher, 2022. Artworks © the artists](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/06/2c973d0d1a6e4d19902090b700efa531.jpg)
Resource
Understanding the Art of Place
Discover how we can understand and connect to place through art, and consider how a place can mean different things to different people
![Coomaditchie Lagoon](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/04/0146a69a326e4242a1171dee896b8cfe.jpg)
First Nations
Coomaditchie: The Art of Place
The works of the Coomaditchie artists speak of life in and around the settlement of Coomaditchie, its history, ecology and local Dreaming stories
![The mission, Lorraine Brown, 2007](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/bc5573a87b323b94815e4a7562745ea4633a1e19-1500x894.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
First Nations
Coomaditchie: Of place
These works record the extraordinary arc the artists of Coomaditchie have travelled over more than three decades
![Dragonflies, Meahala Langlo-Brown, 2022](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/0d73ddc96d371d6ff15502e7a7f258fc564f46c7-2000x693.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
First Nations
Coomaditchie: Lagoon stories
These panels detail the ecological life in and around Coomaditchie Lagoon
![A view of the shacks on the Port Kembla end of the Official Camp](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/4e0e7656fd107783a5624f4fefd8644d2d287338-1644x981.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
The fight for Coomaditchie
Listen to audio recordings and read transcripts of selected letters held in the State Archives Collection
Coomaditchie: The Art of Place is based on the exhibition commissioned by Wollongong Art Gallery in 2023.
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Browse all![Cast in cast out, Denis Golding, 2020, epoxy resin, iron oxides, concrete, acrylic, edition etching rag](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/02/e10e457fb1034fcd83778d1d82d0ba4d.jpg)
Now showing
Featured display
Cast in cast out
An evocative artwork by Sydney-based Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay artist Dennis Golding
Saturday 16 March
![Ngaya (I am)](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/01/17e1d3e6867f44a09333d876bd71be48.jpg)
Now showing
Featured exhibition
Ngaya (I am)
‘A cut-and-paste, punked-up look at my Country’ is how Peter Waples-Crowe describes his video installation, a self-portrait of the artist as a queer Ngarigo person from the Snowy Mountains region of south-eastern NSW
Saturday 16 March