In support of reconciliation, Helen Kaminski is proud to be working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art centre, Bábbarra Women’s Centre for a special collaboration that celebrates hand printed textiles.

Facilitated by Indigenous Fashion Projects their important work champions artisanal craft and safeguards First Nations’ interests in the Australian fashion industry.

Located in the remote community of Maningrida in Arnhem Land, Bábbarra Women’s Centre was established in 1983 as a safe space for women, providing them with a way to share knowledge and ideas. In 1989, Bábbarra Designs was set up as their main social enterprise. Here, the women’s exquisite designs and hand-printed textiles – each one unique – facilitate their creativity, and help them achieve financial independence for themselves, and their community. Today, it’s one of the oldest continuously operating Indigenous textile workshops in Australia

Helen Kaminski is thrilled to be collaborating with Bábbarra Women’s Centre, this partnership is a new link in their commitment to craftspersonship and artisanal techniques. Working together, they aim to equip each artist with the skills needed to grow their creative practice and business in the fashion industry today; and pass down to the next generation for tomorrow.

For Spring Summer ’24, Helen Kaminski has partnered with two artists from Bábbarra Women’s Centre, Elizabeth Wullumingu and Janet Marawarr. The collection features unique interpretations of their traditional ancestral stories which are then handprinted onto fabric.

Dakarra by Elizabeth Wullunmingu tells the ancestral story of a unique species of cockle shell and the fishing lifestyle enjoyed by her people. Each layer of colour is carefully selected to tell the story and has been hand-printed individually.

Janet Marawarr’s Kunred Kunkurra is also hand-printed in a striking blue colour and depicts the ancestral story of spiralling winds and underground lightning in the build-up to a storm in Mankorlod, Marawarr’s clan estate in West Arnhem Land. To showcase these incredible fabrics, Helen Kaminski has designed three highly wearable styles: a bucket, wide-brim sunhat, and visor.

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