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00:02I think we are more fortunate than many other countries we have been lucky because we have
00:08reached full nationhood without the fighting and bloodshed but even so our achievement of
00:14independence still represent years of planning and hard work on the part of everyone I know that
00:20every man woman and child of our new nation she has this moment of pride and happiness with one
00:27heart to join in celebrating our independence
00:52here I am in my home in Naam Melbourne where I live
00:57and where I grew up I also have my cultural ancestral and what I consider to be my actual
01:04home Rabaul in Papua New Guinea it's a big year for PNG a richly vibrant nation with over 800 languages
01:15and many more dialects 2025 marks 50 years of self-governance and independence from Australian
01:23colonial rule back in 1975 when we gained independence under the Whitlam government
01:29it meant exciting possibilities and new beginnings we have at this point in time broken with our
01:37colonial past and we now stand as an independent nation in our own right this historical moment
01:45resonates in PNG's cultural and collective memory and for some of us living in the PNG diaspora here in Australia
01:53we hold these memories close to it keeps us connected to home
02:01living in Australia and being Papua New Guinean I often wonder what home really means
02:07some of us might be fortunate enough to choose the place we call home and I'm mindful this is a
02:13privilege not afforded to everyone
02:19watching stories of independent celebrations in PNG I'm reflecting on the ways PNG people are linked to the lands of
02:28our ancestors
02:29through family language food and culture there's a familiarity there even if we can't always name it
02:43being based in Australia the arts is a place where I've been able to connect with stories from PNG
02:49and also PNG artists
02:54and I want to talk to some of these artists to get to the heart of the question
02:59what does home mean to you
03:03and how do ideas of home shape their creativity
03:08I'm eager to have these conversations because I'm about to journey back to PNG
03:12to enjoy independent celebrations
03:19before I head to the airport though I do have to check in with a brilliant sis
03:28Wendy Mockhair is a writer who brings amazing stories from Papua New Guinea onto Australia's stages and screens
03:36and her list of credits and awards really speak for itself
03:42she's also a visual artist who documents for stories of PNG women
03:47I'm so excited
03:49yeah about going home
03:50yeah tell me about that how are you feeling about it all
03:53I don't know like home is such a big word especially when we live
03:57yeah as part of diaspora what does the word mean to you
04:01gosh um Medang Medang is home for me
04:05I spent most of my childhood up from the ages of like 3 to 12
04:12when I'm writing and when I'm creating it's I think like in pictures
04:16often what comes to me is the coastline of Medang
04:20and so a lot of my plays always start with like the ocean
04:25even being away from it I can still smell it
04:27I can still see it and so a lot of my stories start there
04:30I always think of like my ground my home soil as as also something that's internally in my brain
04:36yes
04:36and so I have to like water it right and so by watering it
04:40that's that's my that's my land that's away from my land
04:43yeah
04:44is the is how I feel when I come to writing and creating and and being able to use the
04:50art to stay connected to
04:51my my people in my home
04:54you are such a brilliant beautiful playwright and the reason why I love your work is because I always connect
05:01to a sense of home which I don't ordinarily get living here in Australia
05:07but the ways that you elevate center and just celebrate black Pacific Islander stories
05:16that's very specific talk about that in terms of your craft
05:21the common perception is about the black Pacific is that we're either asleep or we're just kind of standing idly
05:29by not really active in our own stories
05:33and so I like to activate us
05:37just kind of show everyone that we are here and we've always been here
05:43and really kind of then find the nuances and the ways in which we define ourselves and the way that
05:49we live and celebrate and love
05:52I want to talk about your beautiful award-winning work
05:56I am Kegu can you please explain a bit about that
05:59well it was around the time that I was training at NIDA
06:03I realized in second year that I'm going to graduate and there's going to be no roles for me because
06:07no one's writing any roles for us
06:09I decided I'm going to write a play and around that time there was a sorcery related killing that happened
06:16up in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea
06:17and that not only terrified me but it also like saddened me
06:21and so that propelled me
06:22I just wrote to be able to understand parts of my culture
06:26and then over the years it kind of grew into this play called I am Kegu
06:31well I could happily talk more with Wendy about her incredible work
06:34but alas today's not the day
06:37well I know where I need to be in the next 50 minutes or so is at the airport
06:40but let's do that
06:42okay
06:43and what else oh can't forget the passport
06:46you need the passport
06:47let's not forget that
06:48alright
06:53bye-bye see ya
07:06it's tricky to verbalize how it feels to be back in PNG
07:11of course I have my life in Australia but there's a different sense of belonging here
07:17that said I'm so excited because along with a bunch of Melanesian and First Nations artists
07:24we're all finally here in Port Moresby
07:27preparations are underway for Meganesia
07:30a massive concert that forms part of pre-independence celebrations
07:34and some of my favourite musicians are in town for the show
07:39it is going to be a huge celebratory event
07:45but for now I'm just taking in the sights and sounds of Port Moresby
07:49and taking time to meet an artist whose work is a familiar sight in this city
07:56look at this
07:57I like I've seen this so many times on the internet
08:01and I can't believe that I'm now here
08:03this is Leslie Wengembel
08:05and for me his work really encapsulates home
08:09like talking home
08:11this image is it this mural is it
08:13it's all mural it's about family
08:15yeah
08:16because the when we talk about the idea of home
08:18this mural represents that from grandfather to a parent and then to a child
08:26Leslie is an iconic figure in PNG contemporary art
08:30he paints both intimate portraits and stunning public works
08:35through his hyper realist technique he has a gift for capturing the essence of his subjects
08:42from politicians and sports figures to babies and kids right through to elders
08:49I think what I find most amazing about your work is eyes
08:52you're extraordinary with capturing eyes
08:55I would say like I mustered the eyes when I was really young
08:59I used to look at all these old muscles and now the lights kind of glow in the eyes of
09:03like
09:03how to create that connection the soul in the eyes of people
09:07and with PNG the eyes of like
09:10of elderly people it's so engaging when you look at them
09:13it's with love and wanting innocence
09:14also with the knowledge
09:16I grew up with my grandma for a while so
09:18like something that I that fascinates me is the love that they give to you
09:22that's what even motivates me to do a lot of paintings of like a faces of old people
09:28is because I wanted to capture that love that that connection that knowledge that wisdom
09:33and portraying the essence of PNG that's where it comes from
09:39do you ever look at the mural and think oh maybe I should have done a little line here or
09:43multiple the time
09:44multiple the time yeah
09:45well it looks perfect to me
09:47I have to say I think that beautiful face on the end is the one for me
09:55I know I'm sweating up a storm but hey let's run with it
09:58can I please give you this camera I'd love a photo in front of this one
10:03there we go
10:04okay hang on I don't want to block it off
10:06oh you're good yes
10:07hey Jesus
10:11am I dripping with sweat
10:12I think yeah I think it's
10:14so not flattering but I don't care I've seen your mural now
10:17I'm happy you've seen it
10:19finally
10:20I needed juice
10:20yes
10:21for Leslie the soulful eyes of his grandmother summed up a connection to home
10:26and when I see the incredible eyes of his mural in the unique light of Port Moresby
10:32there's kind of an unspoken recognition of people whose faces I don't know and yet they feel familiar
10:41it's work like this that's kept me connected to home from afar
10:47so happy to be back here
10:50family including chosen family through friendships is an important part of building a sense of home
10:59I'm meeting up with a dear friend from Australia whose creative practice has reconnected her with our PNG heritage
11:08and that ancestral connection is adding a remarkable new dimension to her work
11:14this is Grace Dilavik
11:16she's a multi-disciplinary artist renowned for her beautiful ceramic and sculptural works
11:22hi Grace
11:24hi Auntie
11:25I'm visiting Grace at her Auntie Elizabeth's house
11:28this is Auntie Elizabeth
11:30and before we sit down for a chat they're cooking up a very special treat
11:37poisea a flat bread made with coconut and sago
11:42we always go for the orange sago
11:44why orange?
11:46it's dried in the sun
11:47oof
11:48sago is a prized food within Grace's Mortuan roots
11:52her ancestors crafted unique earthenware pots to trade, cook and store this precious resource
11:59ooh and the magic is done
12:01ooh
12:02ooh
12:03ooh
12:06and now that rich history forms an integral part of Grace's creativity
12:11my ancestors
12:13because we use clay as a very practical source to create our food to store our sago
12:20so I wanted to know exactly what that meant in terms of who we were and where we came from
12:27I realised having conversations with the elders that our people would make these Mortuan pots
12:35and I asked around to see who is making these pots still
12:40and it's really an art form that is sort of dying
12:44that only a few people know how to make these pots now
12:48there was one elder that was still around that was teaching the younger generations these pots
12:55and she is Aunty Lahui Arua who is 104 years of age living in Porribana
13:02I'm sitting with her learning from her the methodology of how we would make these pots
13:07going into the bush, digging for the clay, going down to the ocean and getting the salt water
13:15and then bringing it back to the village to create the body of clay to then work with the clay
13:22Connecting with this craft has made Grace consider what home really means
13:26and how that relates to the art she makes whilst at home in Melbourne
13:30a lot of my practice began as like intuitive forms just playing around with clay and just touching clay
13:39and when I was doing it I found great peace and a sense of home in maybe the familiarity with
13:48like the earth
13:50in the backyard of my place I've dug a hole which is a mumu you know where we cook in
13:56the ground in Papua New Guinea
13:57but it also is where I fire my pieces
14:00there's something really grounding about using fire as a natural way to harden and create something into a permanent object
14:10Home for me when I was little just meant a place where I lived
14:16I think more and more home is becoming my actual lineage of home being here in Papua New Guinea
14:23We don't have the language to be able to describe what this means to me
14:27but it's extremely special and really sacred actually
14:34and the feeling for me is familiar
14:37In the experience of the sound and the textures and the feelings
14:43I remember what it is to be home
14:48And now you're going to make me cry
14:50And now we're both crying
14:55Grace's story tells us that art can enrich and clarify our sense of home
15:02But in many Western museums and galleries
15:05art works that have a strong cultural relationship to place and people have found themselves removed
15:12often without context from their country of origin
15:16So does art itself have a home?
15:19Our resident art historian Mary McGillivray explores this question with someone who thinks about it a lot
15:29In the days of the British Empire things were taken
15:33They now live in museums, galleries and some much stranger places
15:37I wanted to ask you a bit about the language that you used talking about the stuff the British stole
15:42You used the phrase contested objects
15:44Why that phrase?
15:46Because there's always more than one perspective on these objects
15:50If there was only one perspective
15:53It was legal and it's fine or it was stolen and it's not fine
15:56Then there would be no show
15:58The objects are a doorway into a bigger history
16:01And the way you get there is by different perspectives
16:03How do you decide if an object is stolen or not?
16:06I'm quite assiduous about not making a judgement
16:10on whether something is or isn't stolen
16:13Often what I find is the object is a talisman for broader theft
16:17What I have noticed over the years is there's a handful of objects that attract a lot of attention
16:22The Parthenon Marbles is an obvious one
16:24There's lots of First Nations objects that have been taken
16:26Not just from Australia but from Canada, the Pacific, America
16:31And those objects get a lot of attention
16:33And they're like, it's stolen, it was taken
16:35And sometimes that's true and sometimes it's not
16:38But what is undeniably true is those objects are a tether for a much broader theft of land, of culture,
16:47of identity
16:49These objects, they get to illuminate a bigger and more complicated history that we are all still grappling with
16:54So these objects are kind of like conduits for seeking justice for a broader injustice
17:00Yeah, I think they are
17:02There's space to be able to say, actually, you know what?
17:05Technically, legally, not stolen
17:08But what else is going on here?
17:11What else is going on around this moment that we haven't dealt with?
17:15What I am adamant about is tell the truth about how it got there
17:20Because that's what makes me angry
17:21It was collected in a punitive mission
17:23You mean you massacred people? Is that what you mean?
17:27That's the shit that drives me up the wall
17:30Do you think that objects have a true home?
17:35Whether it's a legal home, a sort of spiritual home, ethically a home?
17:41It's a wonderful question
17:44En masse, no
17:46I do not believe that every object has a singular home
17:52Individually, every object that sits in a museum and a gallery has its own journey
17:56Has its own story, has its own injustices
17:59What I find most interesting is that as these objects move through time and space
18:05They actually acquire more story
18:08And what I love to do is the unravelling of that
18:12If you actually want to learn from the objects
18:15Why not ask the people where it came from?
18:17And not be afraid that they will instantly want it back
18:20But maybe, more often than not, I find lots of source communities
18:24They just want to say
18:26And how that story is told
18:28And they want to tell their history
18:30There can be more than one truth and reality at the same time
18:34And concurrent histories are the full picture, right?
18:37It's about the mass
18:39But history is messy
18:43Welcome back to Nigsfield Meg
18:45I Gents Head Radio 10101 AM
18:48Now with me live in the studio
18:49On your mobile phone is Sprigamek
18:52Three Kings and myself, Riffa Vella
18:54One town
18:58Music is a big part of my life
19:01And a big way I connect with home
19:04Award-winning PNG hip-hop artist Sprigamek
19:07Is one of the performers at the Meganesia concert
19:10And he has a huge following
19:14His songs very much speak to his story of being Papua New Guinean
19:18And his flows represent the multiple languages of his heritage
19:23So I can rap in Mekayo or more to English, Pigeon and Aroma
19:27And still collecting a few languages
19:29And I stick to the essence and the roots of hip-hop
19:32Being a voice for the voiceless
19:34Representing the struggle
19:35And try to tell it how it is
19:41I've been a rebel since I was a kid, so you know
19:43Yeah, I started with that graffiti art
19:45And, you know, break dance and stuff
19:48And I kind of realised I had an affinity to hip-hop
19:51With the storytelling
19:56PNG has gone through massive changes on the journey
19:59From colonialism to self-governance and independence
20:03There's been social and political upheaval
20:06These shifts inevitably have an impact on the nation
20:09And Sprigga's songs speak to those impacts
20:12Tell us about the ways that you share stories of Moresby in your music
20:18I was born and bred here, Port Moresby
20:20So I've lived to see, you know, the changes over my years on Earth
20:25And I think that's one thing, you know, as an artist
20:28We have a moral obligation to society
20:31To, you know, give back
20:32I see my surroundings, I see what's happening
20:34I just, you know, put it into song
20:36And just share it with my audience
20:38And I feel as an artist, you know, we're messengers of change
20:42And messengers of, you know, hope at the same time
20:49What do you hope for the next 50 years for PNG?
20:53I doubt we'll ever see real, realistic, tangible change in my lifetime
20:58We still have our ups and downs in the current economy
21:02And, you know, everyone's really feeling the
21:04I wouldn't say pinch, but punch
21:06This is still home
21:08Home will never change
21:10This is the land we were born into
21:11And I still love my country
21:13I still believe there's hope
21:14We've got to stand up and fight for it
21:16And try to make a change, you know, the best way we can
21:18Yeah
21:19Tell me, where is the place where you feel most at home?
21:23For me, personally, when I'm on stage
21:26Really?
21:27That's like, to me, that's complete freedom
21:30Move on the side, mommy, you're a best two-step
21:33Go to the left, are you the looking mother
21:34The MC mentions my name
21:37And I mentally switched from
21:39Alan
21:41Into Sprigga Mac the artist
21:54Hearing Sprigga's passion for PNG's storytelling is powerful
21:58As home changes around us
22:01Our ideas of what that means
22:03Does require truth-tellers to speak to the challenges
22:07But it's also important to celebrate the wins
22:11And at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium
22:14Which is where independence actually took place
22:16Back in 1975
22:18Preparations are underway for a truly epic celebration
22:24The Meganesia concert has an astounding number of moving parts
22:29Roadies, crew, not to mention over a hundred Aboriginal
22:34Xenadkez, West Papuan and PNG artists and performers
22:39It's a whirlwind of activity with a surprisingly chilled out artistic director
22:45Ari Leke Ingram
22:50We're getting ready for the big night
22:52We're close
22:53I'm not sleeping
22:53I'm not sleeping
22:57I'll sleep after the show, yeah
23:02Irie, known as Irie Leke
23:05Is a prominent name
23:06Proudly bringing Pacific culture to stages around the world
23:10He's an ARIA-nominated musician and producer
23:14Master percussionist
23:15As well as being an artistic director
23:18Of some of the largest musical and cultural events across the Pacific
23:23He's even tried to teach me to play drums on national television
23:28Oh God
23:30You're close, you're close, you're close
23:32And as you can see, I needed to stick to my day job
23:39As a champion of contemporary cultural music
23:41I'm curious to hear about Irie's concept of home
23:46Mostly, you know, my home where I guess my roots is in Gabba Gabba
23:50From Central Province, PNG
23:53But, you know, I guess home is where love is, you know
23:55That's really what it means to me
23:57So, as a musician, what sounds or instruments
24:02Immediately remind you of home?
24:05Definitely Gabba
24:07Which is the kundu drum
24:09My village is called Gabba Gabba
24:12And in English that means drum drum
24:14In Torres Strait, they call it Warup
24:16In West Papua they call it Tifa
24:19And Kianji would call it Kundu
24:22When my grandfather taught me, you know, he would say that the Gabba makes your blood move
24:29The actual beat is like the heartbeat, you know, is this kind of a beat
24:36It really pulls you in, you know, like you belong with this drum
24:40Yeah, that sound always, you know, straight away back to my village
24:46When I was taught then by more contemporary musicians
24:48When I was young they used to tell me, you know, your passport don't take you around the world
24:53This drum takes you around the world
24:56And that's been my life story
24:57I totally get what Irie's saying here
25:00And it's a common feeling living in the diaspora
25:03That certain sensory moments create an evocative and unmistakable pull back to our motherlands
25:11Many of the Meganesian performers travel for a living
25:14And have their own unique concept of home
25:17Including West Papuan brothers and dancers in the show, Sam and Yoshua
25:22How does movement and dance connect you to that place of home?
25:27We both came to Oshela as a refugee
25:29I was 12, he was 15
25:31And now we are living in two worlds
25:34You know, I'm leaving my home, but I'm also creating home here
25:37Every time we came together as a band, we feel home
25:41You know, all the drumming, all the songs we sing, it reminds us about home
25:44So it's like home
25:45Homes bring family, joy, peace, food and freedom
25:50And at the rehearsal before the big event
25:52I'm particularly thrilled to see music artist Yeramal
25:57With close family connections to Yothu Yindi
26:00He continues an important legacy and tradition
26:03Of bringing his Yongu language, music and culture
26:07To audiences in Moresby
26:11And at Meganesia, he'll be performing with members from the legendary Yothu Yindi
26:16Can we take a minute for your bilong?
26:18Look at that, you've got your beautiful bilas already
26:21I'm carrying all my family now
26:23Yes!
26:25And I'll take it back to Australia
26:27Tell me how it's been for you
26:29I'm thoroughly enjoying it at the moment
26:32Seeing the beautiful people, one-talk people from this country
26:36And celebrating with them for this 50th anniversary
26:38Yeah, yeah
26:39So I'm looking forward to it
26:40And sharing my spirit about my home
26:43Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah
26:50Ah, love! All the way, love! Happy 50th birthday, P&G!
26:57Being in Port Moresby, watching this incredible line-up of artists
27:01Celebrate 50 years of P&G independence
27:04Well, it's an incredibly moving experience
27:08There's an explosion of culture and pride
27:12And so much joy and connection on stage
27:20I'm thinking back to all the artists I've connected with on this trip
27:24And the different perspectives they've generously shared about home
27:29Through the traditions that connect us across generations
27:33The people and family that nurture our souls
27:37The music and dance that allows us to celebrate
27:40And locate our relationships with land and with each other
27:44So wrong, so right
27:47What the people and so one destiny
27:50Home is an elusive concept that's tricky to nail down
27:54But what I've come to realise is
27:56You definitely know it when you feel it
28:00I'm so proud about so many things
28:02In particular, our sense of community
28:06You know, being part of a tribe
28:08And it doesn't matter where you are in the world
28:11You know you belong somewhere
28:13And your people will call you home
28:15They'll always call you home
28:17For me, it's that feeling of true belonging
28:20Where how you show up and what you share of yourself in the world
28:23Makes sense
28:25Where people and place ground you in the most poignant ways
28:30Everyone who we've spoken to about home
28:32Has spoken about home being a sense of security, safety and belonging
28:38And I very much feel that here
28:41It is such a weird thing to say
28:43But walking around and seeing faces that look like mine
28:47And then connecting with artists
28:50Who take so much pride in sharing our culture
28:55And you know, beautiful specific parts of our customs
28:59Yeah, it's amazing being home
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