Cultural advisory: the following report contains the name of someone who has passed.

The Aboriginal Culture Heritage and Arts Association of New South Wales has honoured the late Donna Biles Fernando for her Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to NSW Aboriginal Culture at 2024 IMAGinE Awards.

The Murrawirri and Ngeamba woman and her legacy to NSW arts, heritage and culture were honoured at a recent ceremony at Paddington Town Hall, where museums, galleries, and Aboriginal cultural organisations from across New South Wales gathered to celebrate the remarkable achievements of individuals and institutions in the cultural sector.

Ms Fernando passed in August.

Her career spanned more than 20 years of significant work as an artist, curator and cultural worker.

As a curator and contributing artist, Ms Fernando's impactful truth-telling focused on identity and cultural survival through landmark exhibitions with Stolen Generations and Elders' mission life themes.

As an Aboriginal artists group member at the then Lake Macquarie Art Gallery her contributions developed a First Nations framework to ensure ongoing consultation and First Nations First processes.

The framework, known as yapang (meaning "journey" or "pathway" in the Awabakal language), was so impactful that when the gallery later rebranded, it adopted the name MAC – Museum of Art and Culture, yapang, a name that reflects its commitment to the continued inclusion of Aboriginal voices and perspectives.

Ms Fernando was instrumental in a landmark project that led to the inclusion of Terri Janke and Company's First Peoples: A Roadmap for Enhancing Indigenous Engagement in Museums and Galleries in the National Standards for Australian Museums and Galleries 2.0, a crucial development in establishing best practices for Indigenous engagement in the sector.

In 2023-24, she worked with Museums & Galleries NSW (M&G) to develop a touring exhibition featuring Aboriginal artists visiting many members of the Association (ACHAA NSW) network of cultural centres. .

It is intended the exhibition will continue to develop and tour, a final yapang in her memory.

ACHAA's Chair, Jeanette Crew, described Ms Fernando's lifetime contributions as transformative for Aboriginal across the NSW galleries and museums landscape and beyond.

"Throughout her career, Donna was a tireless advocate for Aboriginal voices, stories, and cultural practices, creating spaces that amplify and honour the diverse experiences of Aboriginal people," she said.

The Aboriginal Culture Heritage and Arts Association NSW is dedicated to advancing the representation, empowerment, and recognition of Aboriginal culture, arts, and heritage across the state. ACHAA supports Aboriginal artists, cultural leaders, and communities, advocating for greater inclusion and visibility within cultural institutions and the broader public sphere.

The IMAGinE awards are an initiative of Museums & Galleries of NSW, developed with support from Australian Museums and Galleries Association NSW and Regional and Public Galleries of NSW.