Aboriginal Culture, Heritage
& Arts Association of NSW

NAIDOC Week (6–13 July) is a time to celebrate First Nations cultures, history and achievements. 2025 marks a significant milestone, as we celebrate 50 years of NAIDOC Week, its continuing strength and relevance showcasing ongoing cultural connections through celebrating community, pride, and resilience.  

This year’s theme, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, celebrates not only the achievements of the past but the bright future ahead, empowered by the strength of our young leaders, the vision of our communities, and the legacy of our ancestors. 

Across the country, communities are preparing to host a diverse array of events that reflect their uniquely vibrant communities, with diverse celebrations of First Nations cultures. In this spirit, we highlight a selection of just some of the upcoming NAIDOC Week events from our core membership as well as our associate metro institutions, showcasing the creativity and dedication that make this week a meaningful experience for all. 

Three of our core members are hosting another instalment of their Three Nations exhibition. The exhibition titled The Next Generation is a shared exhibition across their three locations at Wadjar Regional Indigenous Gallery, Dunghutti Ngaku Aboriginal Art Gallery, and Armidale Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place. Celebrating their unique communities united, the exhibition showcases the artistic talent of our regional First Nations artists living on Gumbaynggirr, Anaiwan and Dunghutti Country. Read more about this on our website here. 

Join Coomaditchie for their Last Minute Gallery NAIDOC Exhibition, held at Coomaditchie as well as NASA Gallery at The Servo, Port Kembla. With a long history of public art and community engagement, The Servo as a cultural hub for music, film, and art provides a perfect partner to continue that legacy. Opening Saturday 5 July at 11am, this exhibition is a chance for the Port Kembla community and beyond to see the talent and cultural richness being expressed at Coomaditchie. 

Museums of History NSW is joining forces with our member Muru Mittigar Aboriginal Cultural and Education Centre to provide a NAIDOC Week celebration through a day of programming for the whole family. Starting the day with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony, the day’s events include dance and digeridoo performances, workshops, cultural storytelling and weaving. Visitors can join Elders in a yarning circle to listen and learn from their centuries of knowledge held, or learn how to throw a boomerang, weaving techniques, or see how traditional tools are made. This event will be held at Rouse Hill Estate on Sunday, July 13. 

State Library of New South Wales will be presenting their NAIDOC program: Garrima: The Country Cries for Truth Live, an evening celebrating Bundjalung culture on Tuesday, July 8. An exhibition by the same name is currently showing at the Library’s First Nations Gallery, created by Dr Bronwyn Bancroft of ACHAA member Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative. This event, curated by the Library’s Cherokee Lord, seeks to celebrate and respond to the exhibition through music, art, and readings from Boomalli’s own Kyra Kum-Sing and Rubyrose Bancroft, among other exceptional Bundjalung creatives. This free event is a unique opportunity to experience and honour the power of Bundjalung voices, artistry and storytelling. 

The Art Gallery of New South Wales hosts Lightning song on Wednesday, 9 July, an evening celebrating First Nations music as part of NAIDOC Week. Held in the Naala Badu building, this free event features performances by King Stingray, Keanu Nelson, and Alice Skye, alongside the premiere of CarnavonGirraweenBunyas, a 30-minute immersive composition by Kev Carmody. While you’re there, be sure to see the Art Gallery’s newly opened landmark exhibition Yolŋu power: the art of Yirrkala. 

Looking forward to NAIDOC Week and celebrating our next generations, hope you are too.