Yawa

N'arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs AM, Jarra Karalinar Steel, Narayana Johnson, Troy Innocent, Duncan Corrigan

Yawa means journey in Boonwurrung language. Up to four players each become a possum spirit (walert marrup) as they explore a colourful world filled with Boonwurrung language. As the possum spirits move about the world they reveal words about place that are spoken by N’arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs and appear also on the game map. These words describe aspects of what once was in South Melbourne, a rich wetland filled with plants, flowers, animals in which places like Emerald Hill were gathering sites for the Yalukut Weelam of the Boonwurrung for thousands of years.

Originally created for Clarendon Street Arcade and funded by Victorian Government's COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Fund. In 2023, a second iteration was featured in Play Capitol Arcade, supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, and in 2024, Yawa appeared for the first time in the Children’s Sensorium at the Castlemaine Art Museum.