Logan Art Gallery proudly presents ‘My story: the unbroken spirit of the Kalkadoons’ by artist Colleen Sam, on display from 23 April to 5 June 2021. Artist Colleen Sam (Ngungurnnumma Kalkadoon) and designer Keith Weribone (Mandandanji) together form Moonks Indigenous Art on Furniture. This truth-telling exhibition features their new paintings and furniture, and untold stories from the Kalkadoon people. These stories, which have been passed down in secret trace the experiences of Colleen’s ancestor’s struggle. The story spans four generations, beginning in the late 1800s, and includes the Frontier Conflicts which occurred on Kalkadoon Country. The stories tell of how Colleen’s family fought to survive and protect their culture through conditions of invasion, violence, captivity, forced labour, segregation, restrictions of movement and stolen wages experienced by their people until the mid-1970s.

Colleen and her family have also collaborated with Double Wire and Pixelframe productions to create a short film which document these culturally and historically significant oral stories. By using art and design to respond and interpret the stories. Colleen hopes that this exhibition creates positive and transformative ways of engaging people in complex conversations about our shared history. The artworks and stories celebrate her culture’s resilience but also hopes to convey her family’s forgiveness and commitment to reconciliation with the wider community.

This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

Logan Art Gallery also presents ‘Mini Miners: finding ghost’ by Colleen Sam in the Young People’s Gallery. This exhibition features original illustrations from the children’s book ‘Mini Miners: finding ghost’. Authored by Colleen, this book tells the story of Wilfred, Jai, Joseph and Patrick—junior mining trucks, who investigate the vision of a mystery ghost truck. Inspiration for the book is drawn from Colleen Sam’s Kalkadoon heritage and knowledge, passed down through oral storytelling.