Birrunga Wiradyuri's 1st show opened inside a decommissioned prison 5yrs ago today

On a rainy night in August, 5 years ago today, Wiradyuri man, Birrunga Wiradyuri, Suzanne Goodchild & Wayne Weaver put on Birrunga's first ever exhibition, a show comprising of a 43 piece collection of narratives by Birrunga, a modest number of works by Wayne & a collection of works produced by prisoners over the years.

The group rented the old Contact Visitors area in Boggo Road Goal for 1 month & had a friend create 2 x a/frames to hold the bulk of the works. One was 6m long and the other 5m. The a/frames were necessary as the walls were not able to be drilled to attach hanging hardware.

350 guests turned up on the night, as night so wet the formalities needed to be moved into the 'between gates' area of the gaol to ensure a dry crowd, Birrunga has mentioned many times that he learnt curation in a way that prepared him for anything saying; 'Half the area we set up in had no roof, the other half leaked. Whenever it looked like any sort of rain we packed most of the collection up safely & reset it when the coast was clear.' So successful was the first month, the show was extended 9 times based on the amount of visitors it drew.

It was in those subsequent months that Birrunga & Wayne sat 7 days a week, servicing the collection, interacting with visitors and making plans for what was to come next. Both Birrunga & Wayne approached Suzanne to consider becoming CEO of their new venture, a self funded Indigenous Gallery & Cafe in South Brisbane called 'The Henderson Gallery'. Suzanne eventually capitulated, Birrunga & Suzanne sold an property & used the proceeds to fund the new venture at 92 Ernest Street South Brisbane.

Of course the rest is history with a QLD Tourism State Gold Award in Specialised Tourism Services + Finalist in the National Awards in their first year of operations as well a numerous successful shows under their belt, an unforeseen, unscheduled move due to unstable asbestos in the Ernest St venue resulted in them relocating to their Basement Level, 300 Adelaide St venue in the CBD which again, won a state tourism award in it's first year of operation. Rebranded as Birrunga Gallery & Dining, the new venue is the only Indigenous owned & operated gallery, restaurant, fully licensed, catering & event space in the CBD. Featuring in house & off site catering menus with dishes made from Native Ingredients, Birrunga Gallery & Dining is a hot item on many front, particularly with the move of Metro Arts across the river to West End, making Birrunga the only major gallery in the City as well as the only Indigenous owned & run Indigenous Gallery in the CBD.

Looking back it is quite extraordinary to see what has been achieved over such a short time. Come in & see for yourself what the past 5 years has produced & get a feel for whats to come.