First Nations poets at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery

SCWC was thrilled to partner with Shoalhaven Regional Gallery on Thursday 24th September for a Gallery Open Late event.

Over 200 people came to experience a night of poetry by Nathan Mudyi Sentance, Nicole Smede and Kirli Saunders (with her band Cooee), plus gallery exhibitions by Aunty Julie and Markeeta Freeman, Aaron Kennedy and Coota Girls.

Nicole Smede was the inaugural winner of the Ngaora (Black Cockatoo) First Nations Emerging Artist Award and her essay “A Meeting Place of Shadow and Song: Shoalhaven Regional Gallery Review” appears in SCWC’s 2025 Anthology, Shapeshifters.

Nathan Mudyi Sentance’s poem “seeking sovereigns as souvenirs” was first featured in the Tideland: Art + Word exhibition at the South East Centre for Contemporary Arts (SECCA) 2025 and was subsequently published in Shapeshifters.

We were thrilled to work with Shoalhaven Regional Gallery to bring this night together and create the opportunity share for these authors to share their powerful poetry with Shoalhaven audiences.

Photography Credit Nathan Thomas. Thanks to Shoalhaven Regional Gallery.