As part of this year’s Yirramboi festival, a deeply moving new exhibition has taken over the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre in the heart of Melbourne.

Holding Space, by Apryl Day and Jirra Lulla, is a multi-layered film, photography and visual art project that pays homage to the artists’ ancestral home of Cummeragunja — a small but powerful Aboriginal community on the banks of the the Dhungala River (Murray River), just outside of Echuca.

Both proud Yorta Yorta women, Apryl and Jirra each share family connections to Cummeragunja. It’s a place known for its historical significance — including the 1939 Cummeragunja Walk-Off, widely recognised as the first Aboriginal civil rights protest.

But for Apryl and Jirra, it’s also the home of their Elders, a place of immense love, strength and spiritual connection.

The duo have created Holding Space as a love letter to their Elders, and to Country. Through visuals, soundscapes, and a floral installation by Alchemy Orange, the exhibition invites audiences to see Cummeragunja not just as a site of historic trauma and political resistance, but also as a place of joy, beauty, and spiritual connection.

‘Cummeragunja may hold a lot of intergenerational trauma, but it also holds intergenerational love, strength and joy — and that’s something that we really wanted to focus on,’ says Apryl.

‘We wanted to create a contemporary documentation of Cummeragunja,’ says Jirra. ‘So many people know the political history — the mission, the walk-off. But we wanted to share what it feels like now. To capture the colours, the light, the people.’

The exhibition was initially conceived with a different, much heavier concept: ‘I wanted to create an exhibition for deaths in custody,’ explains Apryl. ‘But once Jirra and I started talking about “holding space,” we realised it could be so much more.

‘The idea evolved to explore the duality of grief and joy, and how these two emotions coexist in Aboriginal communities — particularly in the way Elders hold and honour both.

‘Our community has always done this. We sit within the grief and the joy, naturally and beautifully.’

At its core, Holding Space is about shifting the lens through which places like Cummeragunja are seen.

‘It’s often painted in a negative light, as a place with dark memories,’ Apryl says. ‘But we wanted to show how we see it — the beauty, the golden light, the love, the way it nurtures our babies and our community.’

The exhibition was built on a foundation of community engagement and cultural protocol. Apryl and Jirra engaged with Elders before picking up a camera — a critical first step.

‘We created an Elders advisory group, scheduled interviews, and after a week of filming we hosted a dinner for Elders and community, as a way of saying thank you,’ Apryl says. ‘This isn’t just us having an exhibition, there are so many intentional layers behind the project.’

Visitors to the exhibition will find themselves enveloped by the sights, sounds and stories of Cummeragunja — including film,photography and scent.

‘We made sure it’s immersive, you can smell it, you can hear it, you can see it and feel it,’ Apryl says.

Beyond the exhibition walls, the legacy of Holding Space will continue. All interviews conducted with Elders will be gifted back to families as oral histories, along with photographs — creating a body of work that honours the past, while ensuring the stories live on for future generations.

‘We hope when people come through the exhibition, they can see Cummera through our eyes, and all of its beauty, and understand the importance of honouring our Elders and Country. And for the younger generation, we want them to feel inspired to carry that responsibility forward.’ Apryl says.

Holding Space is on now until Sunday May 11, 2025
Open 9am – 5pm everyday, free / no bookings necessary. 

Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
210 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne