Born in Aotearoa, raised in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, and transplanted to suburban Melbourne at age ten, Safina Stewart has spent most of her life figuring out where home is. As an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist, educator, and storyteller, she's had to find that answer from the inside out.

In this kōrero, Safina opens up about growing up as a "bush pikinini," not learning to read until she was 18, and the quiet devastation of arriving in Australia as a child with no map for the path ahead. We talk about the 2023 Voice referendum, what it cost her community, and how it lit a fire in her art.

Safina shares, with remarkable honesty, the years she spent in a marriage marked by domestic violence and sexual assault, and how becoming a mother became both her anchor and the beginning of learning to love herself. We also explore perimenopause through an Indigenous lens, the power of community and the myth of the individual, equity scholarships, and the grief of losing her brother, musician and artist Stuart Fergie, to covid complications.

This is a conversation about survival, defiance, and the deep, generous kind of love that holds people together across generations and cultures.

This episode covers confronting topics including domestic violence, sexual assault, and suicidal thoughts. Please be kind to yourself as you listen.

If you need support:

Safe to Talk (sexual harm): 0800 044 334 or text 4334 — available 24/7

Women's Refuge: 0800 733 843 — available 24/7

Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text 4357 — available 24/7

1737 — Need to talk? Call or text 1737 to speak with a trained counsellor, any time

Support the show: greyareas.nz/support

Song credit: Korimako, Performed by Aro, Written by Emily Looker and Charles Looker and published by Songbroker.

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