Prioritising Reconciliation

In the spirit of reconciliation and acknowledgement of the rightful owners of the land on which we live and work, we have prioritised our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) over the last year.

We're incredibly proud of the first small yet significant steps Never Sit Still has taken towards reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This article is a summary of the work we’ve done to date and plan to continue doing in future. I hope to inspire other business owners in Australia to consider their own commitments towards reconciliation.

For a proudly Australian business like Never Sit Still, developing a RAP was extremely important to us, and very timely.

Equity and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has been deprioritised in our country, and the negative result of the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum was testament to this systemic problem.

Working on our RAP has taken time, and it’s not about checking a box and ticking it off the list. It’s about putting a plan in place to build strong foundations and hold ourselves accountable to deliver our goals. Working with Reconciliation Australia , our Reflect RAP provides the framework for meaningful action to implement our plan effectively.

We started with small yet proactive steps.

• Our team completed the First Nations Course as part of the SBS Inclusion Program .
• Gumaraa?Aboriginal Experience visited our studio for a smoking ceremony, Welcome to Country, and cultural knowledge building among our team.
• We engaged Aboriginal artist, Toby Bishop (Yukupin) , to create a custom artwork for our RAP that is proudly hung in our studio.
• We recognise the importance of Acknowledgement of Country wherever possible. A plaque has been installed at the entry to our studio, and we’ve introduced Acknowledgement of Country before meetings verbally, and with a slide at the start of every presentation deck. We also include it on our website and all our email signatures.
• Team members attend events during NAIDOC Week , Reconciliation Week , and other events like Blak Powerhouse . We post about these events on our social channels to increase awareness within our sphere of influence.
• Posters for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander events are printed and displayed in our studio, increasing awareness among the team and all visitors to our studio.
• Never Sit Still team members created animated artwork in support of the Yes vote for the Voice referendum.
• We invited the Creative Director for We Are Warriors , Ben Miles from R/GA , to visit our studio and talk to our team about the powerful WAW movement.

Whilst the easy wins count, we’ve also embarked on long term goals.

Muru Program (Pathway Program)

Working with Western Sydney University (WSU), we have developed a bespoke internship program at Never Sit Still for emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to gain experience in our industry.

Associate Professor, Sandra Phillips (PhD) , was instrumental in making this happen. From the moment I reached out to WSU, Sandra was warm, welcoming, and open to discussing my initial ideas. Sandra introduced me to Michelle Catanzaro and Katrina Sandbach from Visual Communication Design, who then connected me with a recent VisCom graduate, Nicole O'Sullivan , who became our first participant.

To ensure we landed on a suitable and culturally appropriate name for the program, Sandra connected us with Jasmine Seymour, a Dharug language teacher and PhD researcher from WSU, who helped us arrive at the name ‘Muru’, which translates to ‘pathway’ in the Dharug language spoken on Gadigal Country within the Sydney city area.

Other long term goals have been set that align with our continued commitment to reconciliation. These goals are in development and we’re excited to progress them.

We've been thrilled to commission Toby Bishop (Yukupin) for our RAP artwork.

This special artwork is proudly hung in our studio, and with Toby’s permission we’ll be using the imagery in both static and animated formats for any RAP related content we produce.

Toby Bishop is a contemporary Aboriginal artist of the Kungarakan clan, custodians of the Finniss River in the Fitzmaurice Region of the Northern Territory.

An Indigenous ranger in the Illawarra region on Dharawal country, Toby’s deep connection to the land influences his creative practice and artistic expression.

He grew up on the south coast of NSW and has worked on projects throughout Australia, engaging with Aboriginal communities and working with artists and knowledge holders to create site specific public installations that have significant impact to the areas, both culturally and aesthetically.

For our artwork titled ‘Scribbly Gum’, Toby drew inspiration from the scribbly trails left by moth larvae on the bark of the Australian Eucalyptus tree, native to Gadigal Country.

The sap, bark and leaves of the scribbly gum have many traditional uses, holding medicinal qualities as well as functional implementations for tool making. One particular use was the resin of the scribbly gum, which holds antibacterial properties, used to treat cuts and wounds.

Reflecting the practice of the moth larvae, scribbly white patterns have been picked out of black paint with the clever use of masking fluid. In this artwork, Toby brings the spirit of Country back to place, with the use of local sand mixed with the paint to create texture.

Toby has been a pleasure to collaborate with and we would highly recommend him for your own special piece of contemporary Aboriginal art.

A dedicated RAP team at Never Sit Still will continue to progress our reconciliation commitments.

Our RAP team understands the significance of contributing to this important movement, and will ensure we remain on track to for our Reflect RAP to be delivered within the specified timeframe.

The most recent RAP impact report shows the tangible, positive and sustained effect these programs have on advancing reconciliation, so we’re genuinely excited that our RAP has now been officially accredited.

For anyone interested in taking their own steps toward developing a Reconciliation Action Plan, please visit Reconciliation Australia to learn more about the process and get started.

reconciliation.org.au