Yarra City Council, Artbank and Rice Paper Scissors are presenting a series of talks with First Nations artists to talk about art and activism over a long lunch highlighting native ingredients.

Over three Sundays in an intimate setting at Aunty Kim’s, we invite you to meet some great artists and get to know them and their work over a shared lunch prepared by Executive Chef Noah Crowcroft from Rice Paper Scissors.

The ticket includes sparkling wine on arrival and the multicourse feast. Please let us know if you have special dietary requirements when you book. Additional beverages can be purchased separately.

The Art of Lunch #3
When: 12.30pm - 3.30pm, Sunday 18 September. 
Where: Aunty Kim’s, 92-94 Johnston Street, Collingwood
Featuring: Michael Jalaru Torres. Facilitated by Wāni Toaishara

BUY TICKETS

This series is made possible with the funding from the Victorian Government’s COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Funding.

Menu:
Poached Akoya oyster, speck, pepper berry dressing. Gluten free.

Terrine of crocodile tail, nori, Kakadu plum, lemongrass. Gluten free.

Lemon myrtle cured Tasmanian salmon, green pea velouté, peppermint gum, finger lime. Gluten free.

Pepper leaf seared kangaroo, smoked bone marrow, crispy brioche, celeriac, asparagus.

Steamed barramundi, karkalla, Geraldton wax, soy, ginger. Gluten free.

Wok tossed Warrigal greens, chilli caramel, artichoke. Gluten free.

Roasted millet seeds, quandong, burnt butter, sandalwood nut. Gluten free.

White chocolate and wattle seed parfait, macadamia, bitter chocolate, salt caramel. Gluten free.

Michael Jalaru Torres

 Michael Jalaru Torres is an Indigenous fine art photographer and poet from Broome, Western Australia. He is also a media professional who creates design and video art.

As a Djugun-Yawuru/ man with tribal connections to the Gooniyandi/Jabbir Jabbir/Ngarluma peoples, Michael is inspired by the unique landscapes and people of the Kimberley region, which feature prominently in his work.

His photography draws on his own stories and personal history and explores contemporary social and political issues facing Indigenous people. Much of his work involves conceptual and innovative portraiture and abstract landscape photography.

“I am a self-taught photographer and was drawn to photography as a visual medium because of its accessibility and the challenge of capturing stories in single images. I experiment regularly with different mediums, and I am interested in expanding my photography into installations and motion work and pushing the boundaries of how conceptual photography can be used in virtual reality.”

Michael’s photography has appeared in exhibitions in China, Germany, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and regional Western Australia.

In 2022 Michael founded Blak Lens, a collective of Indigenous photographers formed to support and amplify each other, with the long term aim of building a professional and cultural network that will change people’s perceptions of First Nations Australians. “We as photographers are taking a snapshot of our people and communities through our eyes. For too long we have been the subject and not the creator.” – Michael Jalaru Torres

Wani Toaishara

Wāni Toaishara’s practice explores African Futurisms, Statelessness, Indigeneity, climate justice, those on the margins of those movements and dialogues, Indigenous knowledge production and the effects of dislocation in a globalised anti-Black, Afrophobic society.

Toaishara was the winner of the 2021 Darebin Art Prize and is a PhD candidate at Monash Art, Design and Architecture.