MEGANESIA will take to the stage at The Princess Theatre in Magandjin/Brisbane on Friday 6 March as a WOMADelaide side show presented by Gaba Musik and The Princess Theatre, with support from Creative Nations.
The one-night event will bring together artists from across Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Papua New Guinean communities, ahead of their appearance at WOMADelaide.
MEGANESIA is a collaborative production led by Gugu Yalanji woman Deline Briscoe and her partner Airileke, bringing together three generations of artists across music, dance and visual art.
The show draws its name from the ancient landmass once known as Sahul or Meganesia, before rising sea levels separated Australia, Papua New Guinea and surrounding regions.
Ms Briscoe explained the concept behind the production.
"Meganesia is the brainchild of myself and my partner Airileke," Ms Briscoe said.
"It's a collection of people that we've been working with over the last 30 years.
"It's always three generations of artists on every level, so the visual art, the dancing, the music, and we just bring everyone together."
Ms Briscoe said the narrative centres on reconnecting cultures divided by colonial borders.
"I think the beauty and strength of this particular group of people is that Meganesias narrative," she said.
"It's when all of our landmass was combined before the last sea level rose, we were called Sahul or Meganesia, and we had trade routes and still do and so this is about reconnecting those cultures, just defying all of those colonial borders."
The Brisbane line-up features Kaiit (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Papua New Guinean), Train Toune (PNG), Mereani (PNG), Justin Wellington (PNG), Richard Mogu (PNG), Deline Briscoe (Aboriginal), Jugu Gaita (PNG), and Siala Airileke.
Gunditjmara, Torres Strait and Papua New Guinean RnB icon, Kaiit expressed her excitement to come together with the MEGANESIA crew again.
"It's just so special every time I perform with that whole crew because the last time I saw them we were all in Papua New Guinea for the 50th year of independence," she said.
"I'm so excited to see everyone again and yeah to chop it up.
"We're all together like you can feel like we've been doing this for a very long time... so just seeing myself fully reflected, I can truly see and feel my whole self when I'm around that mob."
Ms Briscoe pointed to Kaiit as representing the next generation within the collective.
"Kaiit is the next generation that got a different platform and this incredible songwriting and lyricist, but also like a vocalist as well," Ms Briscoe said.
"She's really invested in Meganesia, not just because there's alongside all these incredible artists, but actually it's all the parts of her.
"She is kind of like the embodiment of Meganesia with Aboriginal, Torres Strait and Papua New Guinea heritage."
Gaba Musik focuses on bringing Indigenous music to the forefront, with MEGANESIA forming part of its broader push to platform artists across the region.
The March 6 performance will serve as a lead-in to the group's appearance at WOMADelaide, showcasing culture from across the continent and into West Papua and Papua New Guinea.
Tickets are priced at $65 for the Brisbane show and are available online via Eventbrite.
