Spring Revolution festival:
Xenia Hanusiak
Presents Songlines for a New World: Where the Sky Meets the Earth
With Emily Wurramara and Saraima Navara
Saturday, March 3rd – 10pm
About the Show
Songlines for a New World: Where the Sky Meets the Earth is part of the Spring Revolution festival, National Sawdust’s annual two week festival celebrating the musical revolution created by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Held from March 1st through March 11th, this year Spring Revolution celebrates the voice of multicultural women, with every night featuring female curators, artists and composers because the female perspective is the human perspective and the human perspective should be inclusive.Songlines for a New World: Where the Sky Meets the Earth, Artistic Director Xenia Hanusiak celebrates Australian women with three unique, impactful performances.
Hailing from the Northern Territories of Australia, Emily Wurramara is a renowned singer rooted in one of the world’s richest indigenous cultures. Called the Groote Eylandt archipelago, the area is known not only for its gorgeous beauty, but also its language: Anindilyakwa. One of the most complex languages in the world, Wurramara’s music not only shares that language, but also evokes the cultural tradition forged from thousands of years of history.
Wurramara performs with her band, and is accompanied by guest artist Saraima Navara, a Brisbane-based singer who also performs guitar and hand percussion.
Photo credit: Xenia Hanusiak
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About the Artists
Emily Wurramara
“Her voice is faultless, her passion forthright, and her culture imbued in everything she does” Triple J Unearthed
“In an often bleak and depressing world, Emily’s relentlessly strong sense of identity and commitment to activism is a beacon of hope and light” Howl and Echoes
“Her music has been sent to heal our spirits” SBS Living Black
Diminutive, with an engaging smile as she tells her stories, Emily Wurramara’s confidence is undeniable… switched seamlessly between indigenous language and English, always explaining the song meaning and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to perform. It was easy to fall in love with the 2016 Queensland Music Award nominee’s music. A teacher and encourager, not just of her people but her whole audience, young and old, of all cultural backgrounds, Wurramara grew her crowd throughout the set, a true sign of a compelling performer. Her humble, genuine style as she tells important stories of her people and her family is sure to endear many new fans over the coming years.
Artistic Director: Xenia Hanusiak
Described as the ‘High Priestess of Harmony,’ whose writing has ‘enjoyed exceptional public approbation,’ Xenia Hanusiak enjoys one of the most diverse lives experienced by cultural leaders today. As a global festival director, writer and opera singer committed to cultural narratives Xenia’s critically acclaimed festivals and her contributions to contemporary performance including ‘MADE IN CHINA’, ‘Earth Songs’, ‘The Garden of Joy and Sorrow’ and ‘A thousand doors, a thousand windows’ have been appreciated at the Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Ten Days on the Island festivals (Australia), Aarhus Festival (Denmark), Banff Festival (Canada), Next Wave Festival, BAM (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington), Singapore Arts Festival, Gruppo Aperto Musica Oggi (Florence), Beijing Musica Acoustica, Beijing Music Festival (China) and the MODAFE Festival (Seoul). Her works for the stage as a writer include Un_labelled (Young People’s Chorus of New York City), the msTaken Identity (for Soprano and string quartet) and the play Ward B.
Xenia is currently recognized as a Global Cultural Fellow, University of Edinburgh and has held fellowships at Columbia University, Peking University, the Churchill Foundation, Shanghai Theater Institute and National University of Singapore. She holds a Doctorate in Creative Writing, and multiple degrees in music and literature.
