When Toowoomba artist Marisa Ballinger began learning weaving as an art form a few years ago, she didn’t know it would awaken a side of her ancestry she was barely aware of.
Some of Marisa’s weaving and painting is hanging in Toowoomba’s Write Gallery this week as part of a NAIDOC Week exhibition by members of the First Nations Arts and Culture Collective to showcase the rich artistic, cultural heritage and stories of First Nations peoples.
She explained to me how the chance to learn weaving from Deadly Weavers founder Felicity Chapman helped reconnect her with her Indigenous heritage.