Powerhouse residency sends two First Nations creatives to Paris in 2026

Two First Nations artists have been selected for the 2026 galang Residency, with Powerhouse and the Cité internationale des arts announcing that Moorina Bonini and Tarni Eastwood will undertake three-month residencies in Paris later this year.

The announcement marks the fourth year of the program, which is designed specifically for Australian-based First Nations creative practitioners. The residency offers more than travel and studio time. It is framed as an international cultural exchange that gives artists space to deepen research, build professional networks and bring First Nations perspectives into conversation with major collections and institutions overseas. According to Powerhouse, the program includes return flights, accommodation and per diems, with one residency running from June to August and the other from July to September.

Bonini, a descendant of the Yorta Yorta Dhulunyagen family clan of Ulupna and the Yorta Yorta, Wurundjeri and Wiradjuri Briggs/McCrae family, will travel to Paris in June. Powerhouse says she will examine the Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac’s collection of Australian objects, reflecting on how boomerangs, shields, spear throwers and related items have been documented through a European lens and exploring how their mulana, or spirit of Country, might be returned. Bonini said the residency arrives at an important time in her career and would help her build international networks while honouring the work of her Elders.

Eastwood, a Ngiyampaa and Guringai multidisciplinary artist, curator and weaver based on Dharug Country in Western Sydney, will begin her residency in July. Her project will develop a series of woven headpieces that place First Nations weaving knowledge into conversation with European millinery traditions. Powerhouse says the work will challenge colonial assumptions that treat First Nations headwear as ethnographic artefacts rather than living artistic forms. Eastwood described the selection as “a dream come true”, saying the Paris residency would allow her to learn from the city’s fashion and cultural history while expanding the reach of her practice.

The program is also being framed as a wider statement about cultural leadership. Powerhouse chief executive Lisa Havilah said galang is “a cultural bridge that honours the depth, strength and continuity of First Nations creative practice.” Cité internationale des arts director Bénédicte Alliot said the residency had become “a living bridge between Australian First Nations artistic practices and the wider world”.

Since 2023, six First Nations creatives have already travelled to Paris through galang. That growing alumni list suggests the program is becoming more than a one-off opportunity. It is taking shape as a longer-term international platform for First Nations creative exchange, grounded in the idea that artists should not have to leave culture behind in order to work globally. Instead, they bring it with them, and in doing so reshape the spaces they enter.