This episode we had the pleasure of chatting with Ros Moriarty from Balarinji, an Aboriginal-owned strategy and design agency, based in Sydney. Ros started the business with her husband, John, over 37 years ago and during that time has seen a lot of changes in the industry and how Aboriginal design is perceived.

Their work includes everything from branding and digital products to curating public art and cultural design principles. They believe in location-specific relationships and outcomes, leading them to work with and engage Aboriginal stakeholders across the nation. This puts them in a very authentic position, being able to communicate legacy of place — something that has been ignored for too long in modern Australian society.

In this discussion, we dig into Ros’ background and how she moved from journalism to design, the meeting of John and being accepted into his family. We look in-depth at the studios offerings and consider how much has changed, but also, how much further we have to go in increasing Australia’s understanding of its First People.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, helping keep the lights on in these strange times. Give them a try at streamtime.net

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Links

Balarinji: https://www.balarinji.com.au

Ros’ website: http://www.rosmoriarty.com.au

Ros’ publishers site: https://allenandunwin.com/authors/m/ros-moriarty

Ros Twitter: https://twitter.com/RosMoriarty

Ros LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosmoriarty

Moriarty Foundation: https://www.moriartyfoundation.org.au

Balarinji art and design collection: https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/balarinji

Streamtime: https://streamtime.net

SBS Inclusion Program: https://inclusion-program.com.au