Working with and for community to protect and celebrate culture is why we exist.
Troy and Shayne (who we haven't properly introduced to you yet but stay tuned!) were recently lucky enough to travel to Gummingurru, just north of Toowoomba, QLD. The trip was alongside our friends at Gummingurru Aboriginal Corporation, the Traditional Custodians and caretakers of this living cultural site, and Damian Thomson from @latstudios_ .
The visit was part of a Master Plan project for the site to allow visitors to learn and connect to the site, celebrating its context as a living cultural landscape, while also protecting it for generations to come.
Thank you to Gummingurru Aboriginal Corporation for thinking of us for this project and for their guidance as we get underway alongside the broader team.
You can't develop design principles for a community from the outside looking in.
Troy and Tahlia were back on Palm Island with Paul and Hudson from @phorm_architecture a couple of weeks ago, their second visit as part of ongoing work to develop place-based design principles for Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council.
The conversations centred on housing, to hear what's working, what isn't, and what community actually needs. There's a lot at stake in getting it right, because good design improves living conditions, and bad design perpetuates disadvantage.
The principles coming out of this process will give Council and community a practical tool to guide the design and delivery of future infrastructure on the island, even beyond housing.
We'll be back in a couple of weeks, so if you live on Palm Island or know someone who does and would want to share their voice as part of this work, please get them to reach out to us at: [email protected]
📸 Photos by our lovely friends at @phorm_architecture
Blaklash is proud to have been part of the team that took home the Best Art in the Workplace Collaboration award (Sponsored by @aruga_au ) at the Creative Brisbane Awards (@creativebrisbane ) 2026 earlier this week! We couldn't be happier to have delivered this work alongside Keisha Leon (@cause.affect.studio ), @arupgroup , @hassell_studio , @five_mile_radius and Dialogue Office.
The award recognises the co-design of Arup's new Brisbane workplace, in particular how layered story was embedded through artwork. What made this project possible was the collaboration behind it. Cultural knowledge shaping material decisions, story woven into everyday experience, and connection to sky, water and place all within a high-rise setting.
We're incredibly proud of what this collective has built together, and want to acknowledge every winner and nominee from the awards. Brisbane's creative community continues to do incredible things.
Tahlia and Troy recently visited Napranum and Mapoon in Cape York, alongside architects and friends Luke and Gen from @deickerichards , to hear from community exactly how to shape their own place-based housing design guidelines.
These beautiful communities share the same climate and many family connections, yet each has its own unique character. Having the opportunity to unpack what makes them distinct is exactly the kind of nuance that shapes better housing design.
It's this kind of community work, done alongside skilled collaborators like Deicke Richards, that ensures design is the best that it can be, grounded in place, the people it serves and the culture it supports.
Next week, the team will be head back up to continue these conversations with community. We can't wait to share more as it unfolds.
Torres Strait Islander artist Brian Robinson has unveiled 'Floriate', a monumental bronze sculpture now living at the heart of Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (@atqpac ) new Glasshouse Theatre.
Robinson (Kala Lagaw Ya and Wuthathi), is known for work that weaves Torres Strait motifs, contemporary symbols and intricate design across painting, printmaking and sculpture. In 'Floriate', that practice emerges as hand-carved designs that spiral across the bronze surface, forming seven native flowering plants each drawn from a different watershed system across Queensland: Kurrajong, Spotted Emu Bush, Lemon Bush, Cape York Lily, Bat's Wing Coral Tree, Sally Wattle and Milkmaid.
Behind the scenes, Blaklash Director Amanda Hayman developed a simple curatorial framework that shaped the direction of the commission, guiding the EOI process, artist selection and foundational concepts. We also acknowledge the research by Aunty Colleen Wall, who shared cultural knowledge regarding Queensland watersheds that influenced the overall architecture and design of the new Glasshouse Theatre.
Fabricated by Urban Art Projects (@uapcompany ) in close collaboration with Robinson and @onespace_au , and informed by a First Nations Selection Panel and specialist advisors, Floriate stands as a tribute to the Country it sits within.
Watch the video to hear Amanda give voice to the curatorial thinking behind the project.
Gen and Luke have been lucky to spend time recently working in Napranum and Mapoon in Far North Queensland with our friends at Blaklash, developing housing design guidelines for and in consultation with the community.
We are looking forward to our next round of engagement next month and to continuing to develop the guidelines to ensure community gets housing that is responsive to their culture, climate, and needs.
We acknowledge the traditional owners of Napranum, the Anathangayth, Alngith, Peppan, Thanakwithi, Wathyn and Wik Waya people, and of Mapoon, the Tjungundji, Yupungathi, Taepadhighi, Mbakwithi, Thankakwithi and Anathangay people.
It’s a privilege to be able to work on this beautiful country and to be able to work alongside the community.
(Video footage filmed by Luke on recent engagement trips)
@blaklash_
There’s something incredibly special about seeing First Nations stories embedded into the spaces where young people create, learn and express themselves.
@sar.ra__ 's artwork 'Turtle Season', part of the Contours of Country range Blaklash developed with @decor_systems , has brought new life to the music room at @ngutucollege on Kaurna Country.
Rachael’s artwork tells the story of turtles always finding their way back to Country, no matter how far they travel.
As an independent school built around Aboriginal knowledge systems and with a “living room” approach to learning, Ngutu College feels like a fitting home for this work.
We’re so proud of what Contours of Country has become, bringing culture and stories into everyday spaces where they can be experienced and carried forward.
Learn more via the link in bio.
An update on Yarrabah: Together in Print.
Yarrabah: Together in Print will open this Friday 17 April at 1/23 Anthony St, West End at the Aboriginal Art Co Gallery (@aboriginalartco.au ).
The exhibition was previously postponed as the Yarrabah community observed Sorry Business following the passing of Gunggandji designer, artist and cultural leader Simone Arnol, whose work forms part of this exhibition.
We continue to hold Simone’s family, the Yarrabah community, and all those who knew and worked alongside her in our thoughts.
We now look forward to opening the exhibition in a way that honours both the work and the community behind it. We hope you can join us.
Register via the link in bio.
Video credit: @aboriginalartco.au
Meet Tahlia Steadman, Ngemba woman and Principal at Blaklash.
Tahlia came to Blaklash with a background in architecture and project management, experience that gave her a clear view of how projects come together behind the scenes. She joined us as our Project Manager, supporting the team and building systems as Country-centred design continued to take shape across the practice.
Today, she primarily leads strategy and policy work in health and housing across remote communities, guiding design frameworks, planning community engagement and working closely with Councils, local people and project teams to ensure outcomes are culturally informed and truly responsive to community priorities. A keen photographer outside of work, her camera has found its way into this too, capturing moments along the way.
"Working alongside community, in our office and out of the city, is by far the best part of my job," she says. "Every day, we get to work with and learn from people who are so passionate about creating impact together, as a collective."
When it comes to standout projects, the Yarrabah Foreshore Revitalisation project holds a special place in her heart. A project grounded in shaping a resilient foreshore and public outdoor spaces with and for community, Tahlia says: "It was my first community project with Blaklash, and I got to see Troy in his element as he led community conversations, while learning from him throughout the process."
"Getting to sit and chat with Elders about creating change with them for future generations is so rewarding, but it also comes with huge responsibility," she says. "We have an obligation to advocate for better, and that's the drive that gets me out of bed every day."
Every project begins by listening.
For the Wujal Wujal Design Principles, that meant time on Country, open community engagement, home walkthroughs with residents and Councillors, and coming back to community to test ideas and draft design ideas.
The result is a community-owned framework that captures what people need from housing and other built form in Wujal Wujal, translating those priorities into clear, practical design guidance that can be used long after individual project teams move on.
See how community engagement shaped this important document via the link in bio.
SAM HARRISON ANNOUNCED FOR INAUGURAL CIAF x BLAKLASH RESONANCE COMMISSION
CIAF & @blaklash_ are proud to announce Kamilaroi and Wiradjuri artist @samharrison.art as the recipient of the inaugural 'Resonance' Major Commissioning Project.
Developed with Blaklash and presented by @cairnsartgallery , this major new work will premiere at CIAF 2026 (9-12 July) at the @courthousemulgravegalleries - extending beyond the fair as a significant public outcome grounded in 'Reclamation & Regeneration'.
First access to a defining new body of work.
Opening Night (Thursday 9 July) tickets now on sale.
Read more at the link in our bio.
'Resonance' Major Art Commissioning Project is a collaborative initiative delivered in partnership between Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) and Blaklash, presented by Cairns Art Gallery and supported by the @qldgov through @artsqueensland .
Image: CIAF Artistic Director @tehoropeyarn_official with Meanjin/Brisbane-based multidisciplinary artist Sam Harrison. Pictured in front of Harrison’s mural at the @queenslandchildrenshospital .
Blaklash was proud to collaborate with Wilson Architects on the QUT X Block refurbishment at @qutrealworld (Queensland University of Technology)’s Kelvin Grove campus; a workplace shaped by the cultural landscape it sits within.
Grounded in Country, movement is expressed through layered details across the space, while the colour palette reflects the surrounding landscape, with soft eucalyptus tones and warm browns drawn from the soil beneath.
At the end of last year, Tahlia Steadman took the team from The Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI) on a walk-through of the space, sharing the stories embedded in the design.
Huge thanks to our collaborators from across the continent, from Ramingining and Maningrida in the NT, to Moa Island in the Torres Strait, and down to the Northern Rivers of NSW.
@qutrealworld | @wilsonarchitects.au | @fara.fitout.refurb.construct | @ailsawalshartist (Yuggera artist) | @bulabulaarts (Ramingining NT) | @maningridaarts (Maningrida NT) | Aunty @kimahsam (Kalkadoon–Kuku Yalanji) | Paula Savage (Mualgal) | @kyliecaldwell.art (Bundjalung) | @christopher_bassi (Dialogue Office) | Andrew Dane | @outside_assembly
