A major Menang-led exhibition at the State Library of Western Australia is bringing Menang Noongar voices and knowledge to Perth audiences as Albany marks its bicentenary year.
Kinjarling Djinnang Ngalak | Country Sees Us is an immersive exhibition developed in response to this significant moment in Kinjarling / Albany and Western Australia’s history.
Produced by the State Library in collaboration with the Community Arts Network (CAN), the project has been led by Menang Noongar people and guided by Menang Elders, including Albany 2026 ambassadors Aunty Carol Pettersen and Uncle Lester Coyne.
The exhibition features a six-metre-wide dome inspired by a traditional kornt (shelter). Designed to encourage stillness, reflection and deep listening, the space offers visitors an opportunity to sit and listen to the voices of Elders.
At the heart of the exhibition are six newly recorded video oral histories from members of the Menang community, which will be cared for by the State Library for future generations. The recordings feature Carol Pettersen, Lester Coyne, Mark Colbung, Vernice Gillies, Doreen Hancox and Sharrlyn Maddren sharing stories, knowledge and connections to Country.
Curated by Menang Noongar woman and State Library Senior Partnerships Officer Denien Toomath, the project re-frames State Library collections through Menang perspectives, focusing on Country and voice to support new ways of seeing and understanding history.
“Kinjarling Djinnang Ngalak invites audiences to encounter Kinjarling as a living, speaking Country, one that holds memory, story and responsibility,” she said.
“It is about giving Kinjarling’s extraordinary and enduring landscape its own voice, and allowing the coastline, rocks, water and sky to be heard on their own terms.”
State Library CEO and State Librarian Catherine Clark said the exhibition seeks to immerse audiences in the scale and presence of Kinjarling.
“With this exhibition, we wanted to open a portal to Albany,” she said.
“From the moment visitors step inside, they are surrounded by the landscape and gain a strong sense of Kinjarling as a powerful and ongoing presence.”
Another visual feature of the exhibition is six large-scale lenticular artworks of the Kinjarling landscape that shift as audiences move through the space. Digitally reworked using AI under Aboriginal creative direction, the works reveal layers of change over time by moving between past and present landscapes. Historic images have been reimagined to show revegetated landscapes featuring local flora.
While many Albany 2026 projects are taking place on Menang Country, Kinjarling Djinnang Ngalak | Country Sees Us extends those conversations beyond the Great Southern, creating an opportunity for people across Western Australia to engage with Menang stories, knowledge and connection to Country.
