Wirin Way is a community-driven cultural arts project developed by Mae Elliott incollaboration with Menang Gnudju Elder and Matriach Aunty Carol Pettersen as part of Sculpture at Binalup 2026. It brings together young people, artists, and the broader community to create a large-scale sculptural installation that reflects personal and collective connections to Country, inspired by Menang Noongar knowledge and cultural perspectives.

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The Wirin Way workshop was first piloted and refined on Country at Nowanup during the Dream Out Loud gathering, held in celebration of Eugene Eades’ birthday ceremony and music festival. In the presence of Elders and alongside Menang community members and families, the process unfolded through listening, sharing, making and singing together to support the healing of Country.

This experience grounded the project in a Menang-led, culturally responsive framework, shaping both its methodology and intent. It was through this process that the name Wirin Way emerged, later endorsed by Carol Pettersen, affirming the project’s cultural integrity and connection to place.

Through a series of facilitated workshops in local highschool visual arts classrooms and public participation, the project will produce 300 individual sculptural elements, forming a unified installation that represents a shared commitment to understanding, respect, and long-term custodianship of place.

Sculpture at Binalup will host a number of walk-up workshops for the broader community to create their own little worlds by reflecting on their personal connection to country during the exhibition period. This installation will grow and evolve to encompass the people of Kinjarling's unique perspectives and contributions, and leave a lasting legacy with the artwork destined for permanent installation beyond Sculpture at Binalup at the Albany Historic Society Gardens later in the year.

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