Among the many activations and events set to ignite First Nations storytelling at the 2025 Sydney Festival, the Plant A Promise four-part-work is a standout.
Inspired by the devastating 2019–2020 fires and the changing climate, the new work features a moving dance performance, a Baya (fire) installation, native planting sessions, and yarns which weave together Indigenous knowledge and environmental science to share the importance of caring for Country.
Conceived by Kuku Yalanji choreographer and playwright Henrietta Baird (The Weekend, Sydney Festival 2019) and recipient of the Carriageworks First Nations Fellowship, within Plant a Promise Baird works closely with her Elders. Plant a Promise is Baird's heartfelt plea to take better care of Country and the natural world.
"I am really excited to be presenting Plant a Promise and all its elements in this year's festival it's the first time to have multi-disciplinary work in the festival," she said.
"It's Intriguing to present my work at the Sydney Festival. Its not the first time I've had a show in the Festival as my play The Weekend was produced by Mooghalin in 2019. It's my first time leading."
The four elements of this work strive to invite Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences to link culture and environment, and to weave connection between spaces that colonial systems have tended to separate.
Linking different art forms, different sites and different approaches with the aim of sharing a holistic understanding of how we are all connected, the new multidisciplinary work is both educational and engaging.
The Weaving Workshop and Yarns (see Vigil: Gunyah), will weave together Indigenous knowledge and environmental science to share the importance of caring for Country. This will be held on Saturday the 18th of January at 11 am with Adalene Williams and Henrietta Baird.
At 3pm on Saturday the 18th of January, a Plant a Promise Talk will be hosted by Clarence Slockee with Victor Steffensen, Vanessa Cavanagh, Dr Brett Summerell and Henrietta Baird.
Within the Healing Country free Planting Workshops participants will join Baird and the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney team for a free native grass planting workshop at the eastern edge of Yurong, The Domain on Sunday the 19th of January.
The works Baya (fire) installation will be at The Studio Theatre at Bangarra. This will be held from Monday 20th to Saturday the 25th of January. Featuring a giant Dilly Bag of stories and burnt furniture, featuring Indigenous and non-Indigenous people reflecting on the nature of fire in Australia
A dance performance will also take place at The Studio Theatre at Bangarra.
The four parts of this project are designed to be in accord with each other, inviting Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences to connect culture and environment, head and heart, to weave connection between spaces that colonial systems have tended to separate.
"Country is letting us know she is not well. Listening to Country is vital, as everyday stories are woven through this work, to try and assess the way we behave and how to live and practice a sustainable life, with an appreciation for plants, healing of Country and all she does for us," said Baird
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