Presented by The Torch in partnership with Queen Victoria Women’s Centre (QVWC), We Sit in Circle  is about strength, hope, and survival.

The First Nations women artists in We Sit in Circle  have lived experience of incarceration. They are mothers, aunties, grandmothers, daughters, and sisters.

For generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used symbols as a visual language to pass down stories, preserve cultural knowledge and express spiritual beliefs. While their meanings vary across different language groups, many messages are shared. One such symbol is the circle, which represents a meeting or resting place. It reflects how we come together – sitting in circles, yarning (talking), and sharing. Lines extending from the circle signify journey paths, showing movement to and from that place of connection.

We Sit in Circle  has been curated to reflect the circle – this resting place. The artworks positioned near the entrance and exits of the gallery space are created by artists in the community, continuing their journeys after prison. The works placed at the centre of the exhibition are by women currently inside. They are regrouping, reconnecting, and resting and, in time, will continue on their own paths.

We Sit in Circle  is curated by Flick Chafer-Smith (Ngarrindjeri) and Sharn Geary (Bundjalung).

Dates: 1–18 July 2025

Location: Birnbeal Rainbow Exhibition Space, Ground Floor, 210 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 3000

Opening hours: 
Weekdays 9am–5pm
NAIDOC Weekend  (12 & 13 July) 11am–4pm

Public Program: We Weave in Circle with artists Narnz and Sonia (Tuesday 15 July, 11am–3pm)

Join exhibiting artists artists, Narnz and Sonia for We Weave in Circle, a collaborative weaving session on Tuesday 15 July, 11am–3pm at QVWC Foyer. Visitors are welcome to drop by, have a look at the exhibition and join in the weaving.

Listen to We Sit in Circle Artists:

For we are the Matriarchs by Flick Chafer-Smith:

We are the root, the river, the rock.
The ones who stitch the sunrise to the land,
who speaks the names of those before us
so they do not fade into the dust.
We carry the stories in our bones,
passed down like ochre-painted dreams,
like song lines hummed into the night
where the stars lean close to listen.
In the quiet glow of sacred circles,
where only women’s feet may tread,
we whisper the lessons of the old ways
the songs, the healing, the power, the pride.
We walk with the past on our shoulders,
feet pressed firm to the earth that knows our names.
We are mothers and aunties wrapped in woven strength,
holding generations in the curve of our arms.
We are the keeper of secret knowing,
guides who shapes tomorrow’s hands.
A thread that binds the past to the future,
teaching our babies to hold the fire,
to never let it dim.
We show the young ones how to listen to the land,
to read the signs, to know the plants,
to hear the stories the wind sings at dusk,
to stand strong in the face of silence.
And when the storms roll in,
when the weight of the world presses heavy on our hearts,
we do not stand alone.
Sisters, mothers, aunties, daughters—
hands reach out, forming a strong stitch just like we were taught.
We sit in circle, feet planted deep,
passing wisdom like cool water on dry lips.
No shame here, no mountain to high.
Just knowing that pain can be carried together,
that healing is held in the voices of women who understand.
Through every loss, every breaking, every aching step,
we guide each other back to strength,
back to country, back to self.
Reminding each woman who falters
that she too holds the fire,
that she too is unshaken, unyielding,
born from the hands of those who survived before her.
For we are the matriarchs.

Images: Opening event, We Sit in Circle 2025, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre. Photograph: Tiffany Garvie

This National NAIDOC Week Activity is partially funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency in line with the NAIDOC 2025 theme: The Next Generation – Strength, Vision & Legacy.