Conservation and the production of shared knowledge

Abstract

In March 2011 a flood destroyed the remote Warmun Community, home to Gija people, in Western Australia. The damage to the significant Warmun Community Collection required an immediate response. Working with senior Gija artists and Warmun Art Centre staff, staff and students from the University of Melbourne dealt with mud, mould, delamination and associated problems. A two-way learning program, based on the model developed by Gija elders in the 1970s for their own children, provided an appropriate cultural framework, bringing Gija knowledge to the university and conservation knowledge to the Gija community. This paper examines the impacts and legacy of this disaster and the development and si..