Guess Who's Coming to the Corroboree: Late Night Sketches
Uncle Noel (Gulla) Blair
11 July - 16 August, 2025
Guess Who's Coming to the Corroboree: Late Night Sketches by Uncle Noel Blair showcases intimate sketches, love notes, and humour filled reflections from Uncle Noel's life. Collaborating with curator Libby Harward, the exhibition explores historical narratives, personal challenges, and Black love. Works will be animated and projected on the Judith Wright Centre façade.
ARTIST
Born 1947, Wondai Hospital near Cherbourg, Uncle Noel (Gulla) Blair is a Jinibara artist celebrated for his witty, political, and humorous works that offer a sharp lens on the world around him. Taught to draw and paint by his elders in Cherbourg, Noel’s art is deeply rooted in cultural knowledge and storytelling.
Growing up in Cherbourg under the restrictions of the Aboriginal Protection Act, Noel used art as a means of resilience and self-expression.
His works often blend humor with incisive political commentary, reflecting his lived experiences and perspectives on history, identity, and justice.
Inspired by his life experience and the teachings of elders, Noel’s art balances personal narratives with broader societal critiques. At 76, he continues to create with the same sharp wit and creative vision, passing his artistic legacy to his grandchildren to ensure the continuation of his cultural and artistic traditions.
COLLABORATOR
Libby Harward is a Ngugi woman from Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) in the Quandamooka region, whose arts practice spans over 20 years. Beginning as a community, street, and graffiti artist, Libby has spent the past eight years developing a conceptual arts practice that has earned her recognition across Australia and internationally.
Her work is deeply rooted in her connection to Country, engaging a process of listening to, calling out to, and understanding the land and waters of her Ancestors. Major recent projects include THE BLAK LAUNDRY on Jinibara Country, the ALREADY OCCUPIED series across multiple Countries including Quandamooka, Yuggera, and Naarm, and DABIL BUNG (Broken Water) along the Bidgee and Barka rivers.
Utilising sound, image, installation, and performance, Libby’s work re-maps and decolonises cultural landscapes, addressing politically charged ideas of national and international significance with a dynamic blend of low- and high-tech media.
@libby_harward_art
Images courtesy of Munimba-ja
Guess Who's Coming to the Corroboree: Late Night Sketches
By Uncle Noel (Gulla) Blair
12 July - 16 August, 2025Belltower Facade
On display each night from 5:30pm-11:30pm
420 Brunswick Street,
Judith Wright Arts Centre,
Fortitude Valley, QLD
Public Programs
Guess Who's Coming to the Corroboree: Late Night Sketches - Vernon Ah Kee | In Conversation w/ Uncle Noel Blair
5:00pm–6:00pm
Friday 25 July 2025
Free upon registration, all welcome
420 Brunswick Street, Judith Wright Arts Centre, Fortitude Valley, QLD
ACCESSIBILITY: The gallery is wheelchair accessible from the Brunswick St entrance. Please note due to current building works at the Judith Wright Arts Centre, the passenger lift is not usable. Bathrooms can be accessed from the Level 1 courtyard entrance of the Judith Wright Arts Centre.
Gallery
Documentation by Cian Sanders
