Generations Standing Together in Story, Spirit, and Country

From 6–13 July 2025, Australia will mark a powerful milestone: 50 years of NAIDOC Week — a national celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture, and achievements. 

This year’s theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy”, invites us to honour the past, empower the present, and invest in the future.

At LIVEfree Project, we believe that healing and belonging are rooted in connection — to each other, to culture, and to Country.

This NAIDOC Week, we are honoured to share the story behind our commissioned artwork by Mikaela Cameron — a proud Dharug woman raised on Awabakal land.

Working with Mikaela was nothing short of a powerful journey; one of culture, knowledge, and a deepening understanding of how land is intrinsically tied to healing and recovery.

The artwork, now permanently housed at LIVEfree Project, is more than a visual piece — it is a sacred story woven through generations. It captures the spirit of grassroots community, the history of the land we stand on, and the continuous journey of walking together in connection, resilience, and growth.

The result is an artwork rich with sacred symbols and layered meaning. A life-giving river winds through the piece, capturing both tears and nourishment — grief and growth. Footprints mark the journey we take together, black and white, side by side. Circles of gathering represent the shared spaces where stories are broken open and healing begins.

It is raw. It is real. And it is alive with purpose.

The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy

This year’s NAIDOC theme — "Celebrating the Next Generation: Our Strength, Our Vision, Our Legacy" — powerfully echoes the heart of this artwork.

At its core, Mikaela’s piece speaks of generational endurance — the posture of one generation standing with the next. Guiding. Learning. Shaping. Nurturing. Strengthening.

It reminds us of the importance of walking together in unity, not as saviours or outsiders, but as kin. As community.

The story told through this artwork reminds us:

Strength is found in our shared experiences — in grief and joy, hardship and hope.

Vision is born from listening — from choosing to sit in discomfort, to learn, to lean on one another.

Legacy is built in the quiet, faithful work of walking beside each other — not to fix, but to belong.

Mikaela’s work invites us to see how trauma and hardship, while heavy, can also carry the seeds of rebirth. That sitting in the discomfort together — choosing to listen, to learn, and to lean on each other — creates a sacred trust. And that trust is what breathes life into real change.

As your eyes travel across the artwork, you begin to feel what generations have felt here on this land — a sacredness, a spirit, and a story that continues to evolve.

A Cultural Journey Through Art

Working with Mikaela was a deeply moving experience. Her vision brought to life the spirit of our work and the land beneath our feet. The artwork captures more than 100 years of community service on this site — a place where generations have gathered, healed, and grown.

Within the piece, you’ll find sacred symbols: the life-giving river that carries both tears and nourishment; footprints symbolising our shared journeys; and community circles where stories are held and healing begins. It reflects the rawness of community service and the grassroots support that defines LIVEfree Project.

Delicately woven through the artwork are native blooms — flannel flowers, which rise only after fire, their soft white petals a quiet testament to resilience in the face of devastation. Alongside them, Geraldton Wax releases its citrusy fragrance only when pressed — a reminder that even under pressure, there is potential for release, for beauty, and for grace.

These flowers speak of healing through grief, and the quiet, unexpected ways new life and gentle growth can emerge from sorrow.

Walking Together in Strength and Legacy

This artwork embodies the essence of NAIDOC Week’s 2025 theme. It speaks to generational endurance — one generation standing with another, guiding, learning, and nurturing. It reminds us that when we remove labels and see people, not statistics, we find a greater sense of belonging and purpose.

As Mikaela’s art illustrates, our stories are interconnected. Trauma and grief may bring tears, but they also present opportunities for new birth and a desire to flourish. The artwork invites us to sit in the discomfort, to learn, to choose, and to lean on one another, creating a sacred bond of trust.

This Is Mission in Motion

At LIVEfree Project, our mission is to strengthen, nurture, and connect community.

This artwork — and the collaboration with Mikaela — is a living representation of that mission in motion. It speaks. It teaches. It invites. And it honours.

It honours the past — the sacred legacy of Awabakal and Worimi land, where our building stands.

It honours the present — the people who continue to walk through our doors seeking hope, healing and connection.

And it honours the future — the generations who will gather here, create here, and flourish here.

It acknowledges the wisdom of those who came before.

It acknowledges the voices of those rising now

And it acknowledges the hope we carry forward for those who will follow.

This place, on Awabakal and Worimi land, continues to be one where generations find belonging. Where they are seen. Heard. And not forgotten.

Honouring NAIDOC Week 2025

This NAIDOC Week, we honour the strength and sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We celebrate the next generation — those who carry the fire forward with courage, creativity and clarity of purpose.

And through this artwork, we make a quiet but powerful promise:

To keep listening,

To keep learning,

To keep walking together 

—as we build a shared future grounded in respect, truth, and healing.

This is our strength.

This is our vision.

This is our legacy.

If you’d like to know more about NAIDOC Week, click here.

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