Mitch Mahoney is a Boon Wurrung artist with connections to Barkinji through my dad’s side. I was born in North-West Victoria in Mildura along the banks of the Murry river where I lived for the first part of my life. After that, my family and I lived in the hunter valley for 13 years and I am now currently living on my traditional lands in Melbourne, Victoria. Mitch talks to 3KND on Big Brekkie with Gman about his role as an Education Facilitator for Melbourne Museum and what it entails.
I work at Melbourne Museum as an Education Facilitator taking people through Bunjilaka teaching the public about my culture and Victoria’s rich Indigenous history. I also work as an artist specialising in the revitalisation of South- Eastern Aboriginal practices. I work on cultural items such as possum skin cloaks, kangaroo tooth necklaces, line work drawings and my interpretation of South-Eastern Aboriginal design. At the moment I am currently creating a public workshop with Footscray Community Art Centre to research and develop knowledge systems around the seven seasons of the Kulin nation.
As well as this, I am researching the value and importance of Australian native plants to South-Eastern Indigenous people. As well as this, I am also researching the relationship between the seven seasons with native flora and fauna as well as traditional practices of aquaculture. All of the work I do is about the revitalisation and celebration of South-Eastern Aboriginal Culture and practices. I try to create works that are designed to spark interest and educate people.