Garma Festival shines light on Yolngu culture

Garma Festival, Australia’s largest Indigenous cultural exchange festival, returns to the Gulkula ceremonial site in North-East Arnhem Land from 4-7 August 2023.

The annual festival, which is celebrating 23 years, brings together clan leaders from across Arnhem Land to share traditional Yolngu culture, ideas and policy discussions over four days with visitors, including government leaders.

Supported by the Northern Territory Government, the theme for this year’s pre-eminent festival is Djambatj – Yolngu brilliance, skill, excellence.

This year, Garma attendees will also pay tribute to Yunupingu and honour his legacy during the festival.  Yunupingu was a pioneer of the land rights movement and Indigenous rights, a former chair of the Northern Land Council and co-founder of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and, subsequently, the Garma Festival.

The sold-out festival includes the Bunggul – traditional dance - each evening, the open-air Gapan art gallery, which celebrates 20 years, the Key Forum and a varied program of music.  There is also a Youth Forum which will explore leadership and new ways of thinking, along with hands-on cultural workshops.

The Key Forum is the think-tank component of the festival, where policy experts and community leaders discuss and debate issues impacting Yolngu and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

To find out more visit https://yyf.com.au/garma-festival/.

“The Yothu Yindi Foundation has worked hard over the years to build Garma into an event of national significance on the Australian calendar, one that delivers benefits for the local community and the Territory more broadly.

“Attendance has increased by 25 per cent since 2015, bringing in millions of dollars in extra tourism revenue.  In addition to employing 160 Yolngu people to help deliver Garma, the event also supports 46 local businesses in the Arnhem Land region, and a further 39 businesses based elsewhere in the NT."