Presented by the First Nations owned and operated Gaba Musik, two one-off, multi-act music and culture events BLAKTIVISM and PASIFIX will celebrate Australia’s proud First Nations and Pacific Islander communities at Live at the Bowl next month. Airileke and Deline Briscoe are Gmans special guests. In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States made headlines and proliferated around the globe.
It connected with activists in Australia who have long been speaking out about our own unique history of colonialism and how this affects our modern identity as a country. These Blak voices are on the rise. Curated by Airileke and Deline Briscoe, Artistic Directors of Gaba Musik, these two events are a direct response to the global dialogue around the Black Lives Matter movement and Australia’s response to Indigenous sovereignty. By centring Blak voices, these events address the lack of Australian Pacific and First Nations cultural representation in the Australian performing arts fabric.
“The artists across these two major events are representative of the most exciting Pacific music in Australia, and some of the most outstanding voices of First Nations Australia,” say Artistic Directors of Gaba Musik, Airileke and Deline Briscoe. On Saturday 3 April, BLAKTIVISM will bring together living legends and rising voices of First Nations political activism. Featuring Yothu Yindi, Bart Willoughby, Tasman Keith, Emma Donovan, Deline Briscoe, Allara, Kee’ahn, Sorong Samarai and Ziggy Ramo, the line-up represents voices from across generations.
BLAKTIVISM begins with a Woi Wurrong led ceremony called Mundanai which means ‘embrace’; a cleansing ceremony for the year that has been and an acknowledgement of the pain of the past 200 years. Then on Saturday 10 April, PASIFIX is an all-ages celebration of the incredible lineage of culture, music and tradition from Pacific artists across the archipelago. Featuring the renowned vocals, tight beats and big pop sounds of Ngaiire, viral hip-hop drill crew No Money Enterprise (NME) and the new boys of Aussie-Poly rap STNDRD; Pacific artists who are having an unmistakable impact on the Australian contemporary music scene.
Opening the evening will be the PASIFIX All Stars under the direction of Airileke – one of the Pacific’s leading musical identities. Fijian multi-instrumentalist Kaivili is joined by the Pasefika Vitoria Choir, the Drums of the Pacific and more special guests to be announced. Hosts for the evening will be Efeso (Fez) Faanana (Briefs Factory International) and Thomas (Kween Kong) Fonua (Haus of Kong). PASIFIX has been made possible by supporters of the Arts Centre Melbourne Recovery Fund and is co-presented by Asia TOPA. Stand up and join in what will be two extraordinary performances of cultural awakening at Live at the Bowl. Gaba Musik is a First Nations owned and operated company, launching with BLAKTIVISM and PASIFIX. In Gugu Yalanji “Gaba” means rain and in Papua New Guinea “Gaba” means drum.