Lithgow City Council Celebrates NAIDOC Week with Local Artist Commission

As one of the cultural activation outcomes from the NSW Government’s Streets as Shared Spaces program, local indigenous artist Rick Slaven, was commissioned to design NAIDOC Week banners for Main Street.

Rick Slaven is a Lithgow based artist and proud Mowgee/Wiradjuri man. Often creating work in response to vivid dreams, Slaven’s practice is reflective of his deep engagement with cultural heritage, traditional practices, habitat and wildlife protection.

“NAIDOC Week is an important celebration in our annual community calendar, and Rick Slaven has eloquently responded to this years’ theme Heal Country,” Mayor Ray Thompson said. “Not only is his work a timely message of hope but it’s also a call to action for greater protection of the land, sacred sites and cultural heritage.” 

Rick Slaven’s paintings, often vibrant with joyful colour dancing across the surface, are an expression of his vision of hope for country.  Speaking about his commissioned work for NAIDOC Week, Time Heals, Slaven described the artwork as a “vision of hope after destruction. Mother earth tests our survival with fire, then after the rains life starts again and the seed pods blow in the wind to spread life.”

Rick Slaven has generously donated his work Time Heals to Lithgow City Councils Art Collection.

NAIDOC Week will be held from Sunday 4th to Sunday 11th July and is an opportunity for our community to celebrate the rich history and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the oldest continuing cultures on the planet.

The NAIDOC Week banners are part of an extensive program of changing banner content, supported by The Streets as Shared Spaces grant, that celebrate our unique regional assets and experiences, and promote community celebrations such as Australia Day, ANZAC Day, NAIDOC and Volunteer Week to name a few. The grant has also delivered enhancements to Pioneer Park and the adjacent intersection to create an open green space for community reconnection.

Proudly funded by the NSW Government