2026 Aboriginal Engagement Forum
Kaartidjin kwop koorliny | Empowerment in Action
About the artist
Tamara Hayden is a proud 47-year-old Noongar yorga from Brookton, Western Australia, with strong family ties to both Balladong and Goreng country through her grandmothers.
She currently serves as Acting Manager at the Langford Aboriginal Association and as an Aboriginal Islander Education Officer at Yule Brook College. A typical day for Tamara involves strengthening the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by fostering strong connections and meaningful relationships with them and their families.
Passionate about giving back to her mob, Tamara finds great purpose in her community work through the Langford Aboriginal Association. She values the opportunity to support, uplift, and create pathways for her community, ensuring that culture and identity remain at the heart of everything she does.
Tamara has always been a creative spirit, with a deep love of painting from an early age. She paints from her life experiences and emotions, using her art to celebrate culture and keep it alive for future generations. In 2019, she established her own Indigenous art business, Djikulu Dreaming, which continues to grow as a platform for storytelling and cultural expression.
Tamara proudly shares her culture with her community, family, and friends through her passion for art and service; a legacy of strength and resilience that has been passed down by her Elders.
About the artwork
This artwork tells the story of walking on Country, not just with our feet, but with our spirit, heart and memory.
- The flowing lines moving through the design represent the rivers and streams that carry life across the land. They remind me that water is our first teacher. It shows us how to move gently, how to listen, how to find our way around obstacles, and how everything is connected. Where the water flows, life follows.
- The kangaroo prints within the artwork represent my footprints and my journey on Country. They show where I have walked, where I am walking, and where I am still going. Like the kangaroo, I move across Country guided by strength, survival and respect, following the land and the stories that live within it.
- The circles throughout the artwork represent gathering places, where families meet, where stories are shared, where knowledge is passed from Elders to younger generations. These places hold laughter, learning, healing and strength. Each circle holds its own story, just like each person carries their own journey.
- The hills and valleys in the design remind me that life is not always flat or easy. There are high places where we feel proud and strong, and low places where we need guidance and support. Country teaches us that both are important; they shape who we are.
- The small dots surrounding the pathways represent footsteps, ancestors who walked before us, and the next generations who will walk after us. When I walk on Country, I don’t walk alone. I walk with my old people, with their wisdom, their resilience and their love.
- Learning from Elders is shown through the pathways that connect each place. Their knowledge doesn’t stop in one circle, it flows, travels and continues. Their stories teach us who we are, where we belong, and how to care for Country as Country cares for us.
When I am on Country, I feel grounded. I feel calm. I feel strong. I feel like I belong. Country listens to me, and I listen back. It holds my footsteps, my thoughts, my hopes and my dreams.
This artwork is my way of showing respect to Country, to the rivers and streams, the hills and valleys, the Elders, the ancestors, and the generations still to come. It is a reminder that when we walk on Country, we are never just walking, we are remembering, learning, healing and continuing culture.
Tamara Hayden | Djikulu Dreaming
