Paramount’s Vision for Reconciliation is to build an Australia that elevates the voices and perspectives of First Nations Peoples and cultures and for those voices and perspectives to be embedded in the Australian media landscape.
In November 2020, Paramount launched its Reflect RAP, a move which publicly formalised its commitment to advancing reconciliation with Australia’s First Nations Peoples.
In 2022, we celebrate the launch of Paramount’s second phase of its Reconciliation Action Plan – Innovate.
Paramount’s Innovate RAP is our commitment to our employees, our audiences, our business partners, our clients and the communities we work with to be truthful in our work together with a vision to progress and celebrate storytelling, inclusivity and equity for and with First Nations Peoples. We look forward to sharing the experiences of our journey over the next 24 months.
To mark the launch of Paramount’s Innovate RAP and to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2022, we commissioned five artists to create unique paintings for each office around Australia, held special Welcome To Country ceremonies and smoking ceremonies and celebrated with Indigenous dancers.
Meet Our Artists And Their Artworks.
Each artist has shared their incredible stories below, and their inspiration behind each piece.
Warrang | Sydney
‘Keeping’ by Daniel McDonald
Daniel McDonald is a LGBTQI Gadigal and Wonnarua man living with a disability (hearing impaired).
He is an upcoming Emerging Visual Artist and has been developing his skills over the last fifteen years.
Daniel has culturally learnt this style of Aboriginal dot painting from his grandmother and his Aunty Mumma Shirl. They taught him to represent Aboriginal art through dot paintings as dot painting was widely known and recognised throughout Australia by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Daniel created this artwork calling it ‘Keeping’ and describes it as: “Our tribes of people, animals and spirits have been brought together on Gadigal Land. All the different people… doesn’t matter who we are or where we come from.
“We are now all connected to each other and this place. Respect each other. It doesn’t matter who you are. Our spirits will return through birth as a human, an animal, a plant and rock.
“We are keeping together.”
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Naarm | Melbourne
‘Interconnected’ by Christinaray Nadya Weetra
Christinaray Nadya Weetra is a woman of Warumungu and Arrente tribes, who has had to overcome significant adversity throughout her lifetime. Despite the many trauma’ Christinaray experienced, feelings of acceptance and joy inspired and ignited her passion to paint.
Chrsistinaray won the ‘Young Citizen of the Year Award’ for Stonnington Council in 2013. She was awarded for being engaged in her local Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities for outstanding volunteer work and is currently studying Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Art at Kangan Tafe.
Christinaray’s piece is called ‘Interconnected’ and she says: “Like the water ways, we are spread out globally all over the country, leaving our mark on people and communities. Water not only represents connection but also works hard as it carves its way over time to make rivers, working against gravity.”
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Meanjin | Brisbane
‘Blood In The Roots’ by Emma Hollingsworth
Emma Hollingsworth is a Kaanju, Kuku Ya’u, Girramay woman who grew up in tropical far north Queensland. She now operates in Meanjin out of her home studio.
Emma experiments with many forms of art, ranging from acrylic on canvas, to sculpture, and even craft. Her works explore youth, the world around her, and her identity as a young Indigenous woman in a modern world. She has been an artist since before she could walk, and has since gone on to collaborate with many brands around the world, including Kiehl’s, Peter Alexander, and Swarovski, plus many more.
Emma created ‘Blood in the Roots’ for the Brisbane office and said: “Containing rich, earthy tones and significant symbols, this artwork depicts the connection we have to this Land as Indigenous people. We are the original caretakers, the original custodians of this Land.
“The blood of our ancestors is ingrained in the soil and their spirits walk this Land, guiding us and giving us strength on our journeys.”
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Tarndanya | Adelaide
‘Looking To The Future’ by Carly Tarkari Dodd
Carly Tarkari Dodd is a KaurnaNarungga and Ngarrindjeri artist who is passionate about expressing her Aboriginal heritage through art and storytelling. Within her practice Carly mixes traditional and contemporary techniques to produce works that are conceptually and culturally driven.
Carly was awarded the South Australian NAIDOC Young Aboriginal of the Year in 2018 and her artwork has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of South Australia, SALA, the Adelaide Fringe and Nationally at the Melbourne Art Fair.
Carly’s piece is called ‘Looking to the future’ and is inspired by the past, in the hope that it will influence and inform future traditional cultural representation.
The Park Lands (Tuthangga) set the scene as the Kaurna warrior looks toward a future that is strong and more accepting of Kaurna culture. Traditional Kaurna elements in the design include the weapon shield in the corner and body paint. On the Tuthangga Park Lands, you can see the outline of the old Elm Tree Road, from colonial times. The white dots represent community and teamwork, while the blue lines indicate the coming together of Network 10 employees. The gum leaves top left represent the past and the elm leaves bottom right represent the future.
This depiction suggests that by looking back at our past, we unlock the path to cultural acknowledgment, in the future.
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Boorloo | Perth
‘Boodja’ by Julianne Wade
The Perth office came together to create an amazing Indigenous painting, designed and guided by Whadjuk Artist, Julianne Wade.
Julianne created the design to incorporate both the traditional land and modern-day Subiaco (where the Perth office is located).
The painting is inspired by the Miya Miyas (the campsites which represent the six Indigenous seasons), Kings Park, and the streets of Subiaco.
Boodja means country.
The painting it is designed as an aerial view of Subiaco country (boodja), depicting a journey from the old lands to the current formations.
The streets reference the old walkways and tracks, the blue resembles the community at present but also of old as our old people walked around waterways. The waterholes represent the old swamps and lakes that used to be present.
In Kings Park, we have a meeting place with people sitting. This was always a point of gathering and still is for many people today – a place that was used for trade and special events and still is today.
The ‘u’ symbol represents people sitting on sand – people sitting and getting up and looking back. It’s the shape of peoples bottoms in the sand. The people also have their Journey lines with them indicating people journeying from all over to gather back and forth.
Also represented is the Subiaco oval, a place of Boodja that is known to many.
The train tracks and tunnel represent the now and the move forward, but also the movement of old at the same time. The white dots in the middle represent gathering points mainly known as the shopping areas of Subiaco, merging forward to where Paramount is situated.
Julianne said: “I imagine the more people look the more they will find areas that resonate with them, allowing people to reflect and share about their own experiences while on the Subiaco Boodja.”
