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A record crowd gathered on the Melbourne Street Green at QPAC for 'Black History Month: HERstory | HIStory,' a night of music, story and remembrance that brought together three generations of Indigenous performers as part of this year's Clancestry festival.
The free public event featured an all-star line-up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, with HERstory and HIStory offering back-to-back performances highlighting the strength and beauty of Blak songlines, memory and resistance.
The evening opened with a Welcome to Country delivered by Yagarabul woman Gaja Kerry Charlton, alongside Kiana Charlton and the Goodjee Youth Dancers.
HERstory was curated by Artistic Director Deline Briscoe, a Yalanji woman, and showcased a collective of powerful women performers including Rochelle Pitt-Watson, Aunty Dawn Daylight, Kaylah Coghill, Kristal West, BADASSMUTHA, Guyala Bayles and the Suga Cane Mamas.
Quandamooka and Meriam Mer artist Rochelle Pitt-Watson described the performance as a shared cultural and emotional experience.
"Tonight was our stories in song, our song lines and healing ways," she said.
"I could feel and connect with the energy of all my other sisters on stage and learn from them.
"Everything we do is all about love and love for my sisters, love for my people."
Ms Pitt-Watson also praised the leadership behind the event.
"Delene Briscoe did a fantastic job with bringing the artists in," she said.
The night was also marked by the paying of respects, with the Suga Cane Mamas mourning the recent passing of Berniece Peeauakeau (née Minniecon), a founding member of the group.
Spoken word artist Guyala Bayles performed a poem between HERstory and HIStory, addressing the strength of Black women and affirming a message of pride and power.
Bundjalung and Iningai woman Georgia Corowa said she was honoured to take part.
"HERstory involved a number of First Nations women from locally around this area, Magandjin, Brisbane," she said.
"We were just singing our songs and telling our stories and doing it together."
Ms Corowa said the event provided space for both joy and healing during a time of sorry business.
"There was a bit of sorry business happening today and it's sad as it is, it's good to be together with this mob and sing it out then. So we're singing there for my sister," she said.
She also reflected on the growing importance of Clancestry as a cultural platform.
"Clancestry is a great thing to have, especially here at QPAC, when there's not a lot of First Nations shows and playwrights and they're celebrating it more and more every year," she said.
HIStory, led by Gunggari man and Artistic Director Peter Thornley, brought together Fred Leone, Jungaji and emerging artist Rowie in a strong, soulful set honouring musical trailblazers and reflecting on what it means to live Blak in Australia.
Butchulla songman Fred Leone said the passing of Ms Peeauakeau added emotional weight to the night.
"It was a celebration - they'd just lost Sister Bernie there, so it was a big emotional night for everybody because we all knew," he said.
"She just sung at my auntie's funeral, she sung at my mother's funeral.
"All our families know each other for many years, so it was a powerful night coming together and having sister in their mind and speaking out, talking about her there on stage.
"It just brought the tears to my eyes, all night."
Mr Leone said the balance between the HERstory and HIStory performances struck the right tone.
"They did a really good job with Her Story and His Story. It was perfect," he said.
Clancestry continues throughout July and into August, with events showcasing Indigenous arts and culture across music, performance, community and ceremony.
