arts

New permanent landmark artwork created by Indigenous artist Alison Page for Circular Quay

Phoebe Blogg Published June 11, 2025 at 5.30am (AWST)

New permanent landmark artwork created by Indigenous artist Alison Page, artist impression only. (Image: supplied)

A major new permanent public artwork created by Dharawal and Yuin artist Alison Page, developed in consultation with Sydney coastal Aboriginal women, has been commissioned by Lendlease.

Set to be unveiled outside of the Waldorf Astoria Sydney hotel at Circular Quay, the new public artwork will be the first of its kind in Australia.

Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala (Black Women Rising) will be a 5.5m cast bronze sculpture of an Aboriginal woman rising powerfully from a body of water. Part woman and part whale, the figure represents the deep connection Aboriginal people have to Country.

When speaking on her new artwork, Page reflected on the its symbolic meaning and depth.

"Badjgama Ngunda Whuliwulawala (Black Women Rising) emerges from the water below the city, a place of spiritual potency for Dharawal women," she said.

"She is the mixing of the salt water and the fresh water, her energy and essence lives within the Aboriginal women of Sydney today. She is every Black woman, every mother, daughter, sister, aunty. She is Country."

*The new permanent landmark artwork created by Indigenous artist Alison Page, artist impression only. (Image: supplied)*

Led by Page, the project has been developed in conversation with curatorial and cultural advisor Rhoda Roberts AO as well as locally connected representatives and Traditional Owners of the Coastal Sydney region who have come together to form the new Sydney Coastal Aboriginal Women's Group.

The Group is made up of over 20 women including Rhonda Clark, Rene Campbell, Jacqui Jarrett (Timbery), Denise Simon, Lavina Phillips, Rowena Welsh-Jarrett, Kowana Welsh, Dakota Dixon, Sara Campbell, Shaneah Jones, Keisha Davison, Angeline Penrith and Bronwyn Penrith.

The naming of the work was also in consultation with the Gujaga Foundation. Members of the Sydney Coastal Aboriginal Women's Group have been invited to be a part of the process, from the work's creation through to its ultimate unveiling, as it becomes a site of cultural pride immortalising First Nations women.

Project director Steve McGillivray shared how thrilled he is to see the space in Circular Quay used as a canvas of cultural expression.

"Exceptional public spaces can act as canvases for cultural expression, enriching the connections between people and place. This new major public artwork by Alison Page will become a prominent and powerful feature along the Circular Quay waterfront, drawing people in and stimulating conversation with its strength of story," he said.

The work will be produced by UAP and delivered by Lendlease as part of the luxury residential One Circular Quay and Waldorf Astoria Sydney hotel development.