First Kingdoms
A Blanck Canvas x First Nation Artists
Australia’s Premier First Nations Walk-through Cultural Experience
First Kingdoms is a large-scale walk-through experience celebrating First Nations culture through monumental art, storytelling, light, sound, and performance. Created through ongoing collaboration with First Nations artists, musicians, storytellers, Elders, and cultural consultants from across Australia, each work transforms cultural knowledge and contemporary creative practice into an immersive public experience.
Audiences journey through illuminated creatures, kinetic installations, projection artworks, original soundscapes, puppetry, and live performance, with every creation carrying its own story, artistic identity, and connection to Country.
Produced by A Blanck Canvas, First Kingdoms is designed as an evolving platform for meaningful cultural collaboration at scale. Available as a complete experience or through individually curated installations, it can transform festivals, parks, gardens, civic spaces, and major public events into places to gather, listen, discover, and connect.
Explore the accessibility story for each installation, download the First Kingdoms Information Hire Pack, or access the full Event Proposal to share with your team and begin planning your First Kingdoms experience.
At the heart of First Kingdoms is a commitment to authentic collaboration. Every installation is co-created with First Nations artists, Elders, storytellers, musicians, and cultural consultants, ensuring each work is artist-led, culturally grounded, and deeply connected to Country.
Rather than commissioning individual artworks, First Kingdoms is an evolving cultural platform where relationships, consultation, and ongoing dialogue shape every creative decision. From the earliest conversations through to design, fabrication, music, performance, and public presentation, artists work alongside our creative team to translate their stories into immersive, large-scale experiences while maintaining cultural integrity and artistic ownership.
Every artist remains credited across future presentations, hires, and tours, with long-term partnerships and royalty agreements recognising their contribution as the collection continues to grow. Through this collaborative approach, First Kingdoms becomes more than an event, it is a living celebration of contemporary First Nations culture, curated by First Nations artists and shared with communities across Australia.
The Tarutharu Kaurna Skink
Created for Illuminate Adelaide and Adelaide Zoo, Tarutharu is one of the defining collaborations within First Kingdoms, demonstrating how authentic partnerships can transform cultural stories into powerful public experiences. Developed alongside Kaurna and Narungga man Jack Buckskin, First Nations artist Elizabeth Close, Kaurna Elders, and the wider Kaurna community, the project was built on ongoing consultation, permission, and cultural respect at every stage of its creation.
Rather than interpreting culture through a single lens, Tarutharu was shaped by the people to whom the story belongs. Elizabeth Close, an Anangu artist from the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara peoples, translated the Skink’s creation story into contemporary artwork rich with symbolism, reflecting deep connections to Country, ancestry, balance, and the natural world. Jack Buckskin shared the Kaurna story and language with permission from Elders, marking the first time this significant creation story had been experienced publicly through a large-scale immersive installation.
The result is far more than a 27-metre illuminated sculpture. Through original artwork, storytelling, sound, projection, lighting, and performance, Tarutharu creates a living cultural experience where contemporary fabrication becomes a platform for First Nations voices. It stands as a lasting example of what is possible when artists, communities, and creative teams work together with trust, respect, and shared ownership—creating meaningful public art that celebrates culture while fostering connection, education, and understanding.
Yakaan, The Snake-Necked Turtle
Created for Electric Kingdom at Joondalup Festival, Yaakan is a powerful example of artist-led collaboration, where contemporary fabrication became a platform for Noongar culture, storytelling, and environmental connection. Developed in partnership with First Nations artists Kambarni, Boox Kid, and Cyril Yarran, the project was shaped through ongoing consultation to ensure every creative element remained authentic, culturally grounded, and connected to Country.
At the heart of the installation is the artwork of Kambarni, a Nimunburr, Yawuru, and Ballardong Noongar artist, whose intricate designs transform the six-metre Snake-Necked Turtle into a living cultural canvas. Inspired by the waterways of Noongar Boodjar, the artwork reflects the movement, rhythms, and interconnectedness of Country while celebrating Yaaka Booyi (Choonya), a near-threatened species deeply significant to the region.
The experience extended beyond sculpture alone. Wardandi Bibbulmun Noongar musician Boox Kid composed an original soundscape that surrounded the installation with atmosphere and emotion, while Noongar storyteller Cyril Yarran shared the story of Kora Kora, a powerful narrative of teamwork, resilience, and community that gives Yaakan its shell, long neck, and enduring place in Noongar culture.
Through sculpture, movement, light, music, and story, Yaakan became more than a public artwork. It became a shared cultural experience, demonstrating how meaningful collaboration between First Nations artists, communities, and creative teams can create immersive public spaces that celebrate culture, deepen understanding, and foster lasting connections with Country.
The Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo Karaks
Created in collaboration with Noongar artist Noelene Regan and the City of Kwinana, The Karaks are a celebration of Noongar culture, brought to life through movement, performance, and contemporary public art. Guided by ongoing collaboration and cultural knowledge, the project places First Nations storytelling at its heart, transforming sculptural performance suits into living expressions of family, identity, and connection to Country.
The three performers represent a family of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos – Maaman Karak (father), Ngaangk Karak (mother), and Koolangka Karak (child). Across their wings, crests, and tails, Noelene Regan’s artwork weaves together stories of ancestry, belonging, resilience, and the enduring relationship between people and Noongar Boodjar. Each suit becomes a moving cultural canvas, carrying these stories into shared public spaces through performance.
Designed and fabricated by A Blanck Canvas, the Karaks combine sculptural costume design with engineered wing mechanisms that create graceful, bird-like movement through crowds and festivals. Every creative decision was shaped through close collaboration with Noelene to ensure the work remained authentic to her artistic vision while inviting audiences to engage with Noongar culture in a contemporary and accessible way.
The Karaks are more than performance suits – they are a living celebration of collaboration, demonstrating how artists, communities, and creative teams can come together to create meaningful cultural experiences that honour First Nations voices while fostering connection, curiosity, and shared understanding.
Karlup the Fire Pit
Created in collaboration with Noongar artist Noelene Regan, the City of Kwinana, and respected Noongar community voices, Karlup is a contemporary gathering place where culture, memory, and community come together through immersive public art. Meaning “campfire” or “home”, the installation was shaped through ongoing collaboration with artists, Elders, and local community members, ensuring every element remained grounded in lived experience, cultural knowledge, and authentic storytelling.
At the heart of Karlup is Noelene Regan’s creative vision. Her original artworks are transformed into animated projections that envelop the illuminated structure, while her poem, A Hill Called Chalk, honours the families who once lived on Chalk Hill and celebrates the resilience, strength, and enduring connection of Noongar people to Country. The experience is further enriched through the voices of respected Noongar sisters Marie Walley and Dr Millie Penny, whose personal memories and community stories create an intimate connection between audiences and place.
Designed and produced by A Blanck Canvas, Karlup combines sculptural fabrication, projection, lighting, and immersive sound to create a space that invites people to pause, gather, listen, and reflect. More than a public installation, Karlup demonstrates how meaningful collaboration with First Nations artists and communities can transform shared spaces into living places of cultural exchange, where contemporary creativity honours history while carrying stories forward for future generations.
Projected Stories of Country
Created in collaboration with Wurundjeri and Dja Dja Wurrung artist Samantha Richards, Connecting Two Worlds transforms projection into a contemporary expression of Country, culture, and connection. Guided by Samantha’s artistic practice and cultural knowledge, the work demonstrates how immersive technology can respectfully share First Nations stories while remaining grounded in authenticity.
Inspired by the significance of the Birrarung and its enduring relationship with Wurundjeri people, Samantha’s artwork explores waterways as places of life, learning, and belonging. Flowing circles, pathways, and native motifs symbolise ancestry, unity, shared responsibility, and the connection between people, land, water, and wildlife. Through large-scale projection, these stories unfold across the landscape, inviting audiences to pause, reflect, and engage with Country in a contemporary way.
More than a projection artwork, Connecting Two Worlds demonstrates how collaboration between First Nations artists and creative teams can transform public spaces into immersive cultural experiences that celebrate living culture while fostering understanding and connection.
Tarutharu Gobos
