Noongar performers take centre stage at Croatian International Folklore Festival

Phoebe Blogg Published September 13, 2024 at 1.00pm (AWST)

culture

Noongar performers from the Phil Walleystack Indigenous Arts Foundation at the recent Croatian International Folklore Festival. (Image: Indigenous Art Foundation/Facebook)

Noongar performers from Western Australia's Phil Walleystack Indigenous Arts Foundation have recently returned from south east Europe after representing Australia at the Croatian International Folklore Festival.

The trip saw the quintet perform their original piece, Kaya Croatia, at the Festival five times, as well as at the home of the Australian ambassador.

Having returned as the first Australian act to perform at the Festival, the group, which includes locals from Perth's southern suburbs, have been commended for sharing Noongar stories and dances with the international audience.

*Performers from Western Australia's Phil Walleystack Indigenous Arts Foundation performed Kaya Croatia at the recent Croatian International Folklore Festival. (Image: Indigenous Art Foundation)*

The Foundation's CEO, singer-songwriter Phil Walleystack, said performing at the Festival provided an opportunity to promote Indigenous culture on the world stage.

"The main reason to do it is to have our young Indigenous performers perform overseas," the Noongar man told Perth Now.

"They've got this culture that is so powerful and so loved around the world and they need to get out there and share it so that they can experience that love for our culture."

*In addition to performing at the Festival, the group also performed at the residence of the Australian ambassador to Croatia. (Image: Indigenous Art Foundation)*

Walleystack said although the group was well received by the international audience in Split, Croatia's second largest city, support from Australians abroad was a "stand out".

"We got some feedback from some Australians on holidays over there (who) came up to our dancers and said how proud they've felt to be Australian," he said.

"That's the ones that stand out the most."

*Festival organisers said attendees were "especially delighted" with Isaiah Walley-Stack's didgeridoo performance. (Image: Indigenous Art Foundation/Facebook)*

Organisers of the estimated 20,000 strong Festival, Folklore Ensemble Jedinstvo Split, paid tribute to the group's contribution to the event, which is in its third year.

"With energetic, but at the same time gentle, dance movements accompanied by the phenomenal voice of its lead singer, the audience was especially delighted by the performances of Mr Isaiah Walley-Stack on the archaic instrument didgeridoo," the Folklore Ensemble Jedinstvo Split team said.

The trip was supported by the federal government's cultural diplomacy grants program and the Western Australian Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

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