Cultural cooperation
During a bilateral meeting on 1 July 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Emmanuel Macron announced their willingness to develop an ambitious France-Australia roadmap, based on three overarching pillars, one of which being culture and education.
This is a testament to the strength of our cultural ties and the value both countries place on cultural heritage and expression.
The Cultural Initiative develops links between cultural institutions and opportunities for artistic exchange. The two countries collaborate to promote cultural activities and encourage joint commissions and co-productions, as well as knowledge sharing.
To read the roadmap, follow this link: Australia-France Roadmap – A New Agenda for Bilateral Cooperation | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Embassy banner
As part of the Australia France Cultural Initiative, the Australian Embassy in Paris is proud to present *Badu Gili: Healing Spirit (2024)* on the western façade of our building—nestled along the Seine and beneath the Eiffel Tower. *Badu Gili: Healing Spirit* is an annual collaboration between the Biennale of Sydney, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain and the Sydney Opera House, projected on the Bennelong sails, a platform for creative dialogue between local and global First Nations voices. This striking installation brings together water, light, and two iconic architectural landmarks.
About Badu Gili
Badu Gili—meaning “water light” in the language of the Gadigal people, traditional custodians of Bennelong Point—is a free, nightly projection that illuminates the Sydney Opera House’s eastern Bennelong sails with First Nations stories celebrating thousands of years of storytelling, ceremony, and community gathering.
Presented annually, Badu Gili celebrates the depth and dynamism of First Nations culture. Held at Bennelong Point, formerly known as Tubowgule (“where the knowledge waters meet”).
A Global Collaboration
In 2023, the Sydney Opera House partnered with the Biennale of Sydney and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain to present the first dual commission featuring both Australian and international First Nations artists. This collaboration established *Badu Gili* as a global platform for Indigenous creative dialogue, connecting cultures across oceans and continents.
The partnership continued in 2024 with *Badu Gili: Healing Spirit*, showcasing works by Yanomami artist Joseca Mokahesi Yanomami, alongside the late Bidjigal elder Esme Timbery and her children, Marilyn and Steven Russell.
Badu Gili: Healing Spirit (2024)
This six-minute digital animation explores cultural and familial bonds through art and storytelling. Inspired by late Bidjigal elder and senior artist Esme Timbery’s shellwork and the prints and weavings of her children Marilyn and Steven Russell, the projection pays tribute to Esme’s legacy, set against the ocean and her artistic universe.
The animation features the annual winter Mullet run—a vital fishing tradition in Bidjigal and Gadigal food culture. Interrupted in 1980 due to revoked fishing licenses, the practice was revived in 2011 thanks to the resilience and knowledge passed down through generations. The abundance and reliability of the Mullet run reflects the enduring strength of Indigenous communities and their connection to Country.
Meet the Artists
Esme Timbery
Bidjigal people
Late Bidjigal elder and senior artist Esme Timbery is recognised for her leadership amongst the women artists from La Perouse who have been producing shellwork for generations. Her shell-covered jewellery boxes, boomerangs and baby ‘booties’ are part of a body of work which included shelled models of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Continuing the shellwork tradition associated with the Aboriginal community of the south-eastern Sydney suburb of La Perouse, Timbery’s works embody an enduring connection to Country, linking a long-established craft to the changing geography and cultural reality of contemporary Sydney.
Steven Russell
Bidjigal, Dharawal and Wadi Wadi people
Steven Russell, a Bidjigal, Dharawal and Wadi Wadi drawer, painter and weaver, was born at La Perouse Mission on the shores of Kamay (Botany Bay), Sydney. The son of Bidjigal elder and senior artist Esme Timbery, Steven’s work is deeply connected to Country and is held in multiple gallery collections including the Wollongong Art Gallery. Along with his wife Phyllis Stewart, and their daughter Kristine, Steven is a founding member of the Jungah Weavers, a Master Weaver collective based out of Gerringong, NSW.
Marilyn Russell
Bidjigal people
Continuing an artistic and family tradition Marilyn Russell’s shellworks are a testament to the legacy of her mother, Esme Timbery, as well as that of the Bidjigal people. Living and working in La Perouse Marilyn learnt shell-work from her Esme, and she her mother before that. Marilyn’s work, which is both a connection to the past as well as a process of healing, is held in multiple gallery collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
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ARTWORK DETAILS:
Esme Timbery, Marilyn Russell, Steven Russell; Joseca Mokahesi Yanomami
Badu Gili: Healing Spirit, 2024, Sydney Opera House
Projection animation
6 mins (looped)
Created in partnership between the Sydney Opera House, Biennale of Sydney and the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. Animated by Vandal, soundscape by James Henry. Featuring Steven Russell's ‘Netting Mullet’, 2009. Collection Wollongong Art Gallery, Gift of the artist 2011, produced with Thomas Goulder at Duckprint Fine Art Studios, Port Kembla.
Credits:
Sound: VANDAL
Sound Engineer: Nigel Crowley
Composer: James Henry Shamanic
Chants: Hutukara Yanomami Association and Marcos Wesley de Oliveira Old Rugged Cross by George Bennard licensed through CopyCare Buri Buri Song by Raymond Ingrey recorded by Gamay Dancers Projection: VANDAL
Creative Director: Chris Scott
Executive Producer: Melissa Lee
Producer: Alice Robinson
Art Director and Lead Animator: Anna Fraser
VFX Supervisor: Joseph Pole
3D Artist: Tim Clapham
3D Artist: William McNamara
2D Artist : Sam Hoh
Australian First Nations culture
The Australian Embassy plays an active role in raising awareness on First Nations cultures in France.
We regularly showcase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists' work in our exhibition space. From April 2023, the Embassy will host a major exhibition of paintings by the APY Art Centre Collective in South Australia.
We support many First Nations cultural projects each year, and are longstanding partners of the Australian Aboriginal Film Festival and the IDAIA Gallery.
The Embassy strongly encourages Australian Indigenous art dealers in France to sign the Indigenous Art Code, a code of conduct to ensure that works are fairly, ethically and transparently sourced.
Repatriation of Ancestral Human Remains
Strengthening relations between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples is central to the reconciliation process and in the interest of all Australians. Reconciliation is a priority for the Australian Government.
The repatriation of these Ancestral Human Remains is part of this reconciliation process. The Australian Repatriation Program considers the return of these Ancestral Human Remains to be fundamental in the promotion of respect and understanding for Indigenous cultures and in the reinforcement of culture and familial ties.
On 1 July 2022, France’s and Australia’s heads of state outlined in a Joint Declaration their commitment to "continue to work together to identify solutions to enable the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ancestral Human Remains held in French institutions".
Australia, which formally raised the issue of repatriation with France in 2006, is determined to make concrete progress in the coming months to enable the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ancestral Human Remains. This would be a symbolic gesture of our long-standing historical and cultural ties and would be of immense cultural signficance for Australia's First Nations peoples.
Australia now 2021-22
From June 2021 to June 2022, France hosted the Australian Government's flagship public diplomacy program Australia now. This programme of events celebrates Australian diversity, creativity and innovation in a different country each year.
Over the course of the year-long program, multiple cultural events took place in Paris and all around France – exhibitions, film screenings, theatrical and dance performances, etc.
Sports cooperation
In September 2023, France and Australia signed a Declaration of Intent to increase sporting cooperation.
The declaration will encourage greater cooperation between our two nations, following the Rugby World Cup in France 2023, and in the lead up to the 2027 Men's and 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup in Australia and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 and Brisbane 2032.
This new cooperation will focus in particular on:
- the exchange of best practices in the organisation of major sporting events, with a particular focus on creating a sustainable legacy, inclusiveness, and the reduction of environmental impact
- sports industry cooperation
- cooperation on high-level athletic performance
- information sharing on strategies and public policies, sports science, medicine, tourism and preventive health policies.