As the country marks National Sorry Day, a new campaign hopes to turn the site of a former Aboriginal boys home into a truth telling museum and a centre for healing.
LEN POWER.
THE Grigoryan Brothers’ “This Is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia”, truly celebrated the Australian spirit. For the large audience in the cavernous entrance hall of the National Museum of Australia, the concert became an intimately shared and ultimately memorable experience.
Commissioned by the National Museum to compose a suite of music to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Grigoryan Brothers, Leonard and Slava, focused on 18 objects that, to them, represented what it means to be Australian. They chose artefacts that represent our First Nations’ history as well as colonisation, migration and innovation, along with stories of love and loss.
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These are just some of the 18 objects selected from the National Museum of Australia’s collection for the stories they tell about our national history, culture and identity. In a new project, they’ve been brought to life through music, with guitarists and brothers Slava and Leonard Grigoryan writing new pieces to respond to each one. The Grigoryans’ music and the objects themselves are being showcased by ABC Classic across the radio and online, as well as on a new album.
The project was distinctively ‘2020’, with Slava and Leonard separated by state border closures while they were writing the music.