Edwards-Wanganeen rooted in community

By Sophie Taylor 

“If you're not going to hear us, you're going to see us.” 

It’s a powerful statement, and one that heavily drives artist Koorrin Alinta Edwards-Wanganeen. 

A fiercely driven and passionate Gunai, Gunditjmara, Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta and Bunurong woman, Edwards-Wanganeen reflected on a “surreal” year since her artwork Joining in the Journey was unveiled as Suncorp Super Netball’s First Nation’s Round artwork. 

“It's nothing you really think of when you're younger or when you're playing netball, having your design and your art and your culture displayed on such a massive platform,” Edwards-Wanganeen said. 

“It’s something that not only I can wear a lot of pride with, but all Indigenous people and everybody else that you know find some type of connectedness to the design and artwork.” 

Joining in the Journey depicts the celebration of community and unity through its use of circles, symbols and linework. 

While Edwards-Wanganeen’s connection to netball has changed since first taking the court at age four, she paid recognition to the role it plays in the community. 

“Joining in the Journey was something that sat very close to myself, especially within my journey in netball. Our community, when it comes to sport, it's something that keeps us very close, keeps us connected, and it keeps the positivity within our communities,” she said. 

“Netball, for me, has been something that builds its own families, its own communities and its own safe environments for young people to thrive.” 

The artwork’s expansive reach was an exciting development far beyond her expectations. 

“It wasn’t just the ball, the design was plastered all over Australian netball and the SSN,” she said. 

“The best part about the design was that I actually got to share it with other people, other than them just seeing it displayed on the TV or on the court, the signage, or just on the ball, it gets to be a part of everybody.” 

A passionate netballer growing up, Edwards-Wanganeen expressed the pride she felt being contacted to do the design – not the other way around. 

“It was a privilege for Netball Australia to reach out to me directly, without having to go through an EOI process. It made me want to do the design more because it was more personalised,” she explained. 

“That Netball Australia took the time and the effort to reach out to a specific artist, because that's just something they wanted to do, that speaks volumes.  

“You don't really expect as an artist to have your name out there or be put out there on certain platforms, I don't really do that myself. For SSN to do that on my behalf is really, really beautiful.” 

Edwards-Wanganeen’s biggest motivation as an artist comes down to her own lived experience as a First Nations woman.  

“A lot of our history as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been taken from us and there are small ways we are able to express ourselves safely within wider society,” she said. 

“Art is our way of holding on to history and holding on to those storylines that have been imperative in our existence as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

“My passion comes down to, if you're not going to hear us, you're going to see us, and then the storyline will continue from there.”  

An advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait people, Edwards-Wanganeen touched on the inherent advocacy she and members of her community “don’t get to leave behind”. 

“I'm the type of person that is helper. I love to give, I love to help, I love to support. I want to change things for the better, for the future,” she said.  

“I like to engage with the younger people, encouraging our future indigenous people that you know, our artwork isn't just something you make money off. It's something that does tell our story for a very long time, as it has thus far.” 

She draws strength from her ancestors and surrounding community to use her platform and create safe environments for young people. 

“I'll never stop advocating for my people and for my people to be seen and heard,” she said. 

“People do want to learn. People do want to be connected. People do want to understand or empathise.  

“I do want to educate with my platform, and that's the beauty of art.”  

While her netball background is important, Edwards-Wanganeen has expanded her sporting community by pulling on the footy boots in Melbourne’s Northern Football Netball League (NFNL). 

“We're playing really well this season and want to make finals,” Edwards-Wanganeen exclaimed. 

“It's essentially a whole lot of mums, a whole lot of community members, a whole lot of women that just come together and have built this amazing, strong connection down at Fitzroy Stars… I’m super passionate about my community in general.” 

She’s enjoying a more balanced take on life, spending ample time with her young family and putting down the paints to make sure she can be the best mum she can be. 

“That design was the last design I have done in the last 12 months,” she admitted.  

“I've had to take a step back from my artwork and my business, but it means that I get to focus more on my children and their needs and wants outside of every other aspect in life.”  

Artwork © Koorrin Alinta Edwards-Wanganeen 

Proud Gunai, Gunditjmara, Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta and Bunurong woman. 

‘Joining in the Journey’ 2023