The Australian Government will bring internationally acclaimed First Nations musician William Barton to Samoa later this month as part of its flagship public diplomacy initiative, Australia now: Pacific edition.
The Samoa programme, titled Breath of Country, Breath of Ocean, will run from July 21 to Aug. 1 in partnership with the Tiapapata Art Centre.
Barton, one of Australia's leading Indigenous musicians and cultural ambassadors, is a didgeridoo player, composer, vocalist and educator. He will be joined by his mother, respected Elder, artist and storyteller Aunty Delmae Barton, and Samoan-Australian musician Isaiah B. Brunt.
The visiting artists will collaborate with Samoan musicians, artists, students and cultural practitioners through performances, workshops and cultural exchanges centred on music, storytelling, visual arts and community engagement.
The programme will explore shared traditions of oral storytelling, ancestral knowledge, identity and culture between Australia and Samoa.
