Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow
Curated by First Nations literary organisation Blak & Bright and supported by Melbourne City of Literature Office, ‘Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow’ is an international literary exchange between First Nations writers in Naarm (Melbourne), Wendake (Quebec City), Ōtepoti (Dunedin), Seattle and Taipei. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
For those of you who remember our call out for Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow, we have exciting news… Applications are closed and the list of participants is now public! We’re so lucky to work with the following deadly writers:
Alice Skye (Anderson) is a Wergaia and Wemba Wemba singer-songwriter born and raised in the Wimmera Mallee.
Alison J Barton is a Wiradjuri poet based in Melbourne.
Ari Mills is a proud Kuku Yalanji and Murrinh Patha writer and poet who incorporates their love for community, Queerness and Black liberation in their writing.
Beau Windon is a neurodivergent writer of Wiradjuri heritage based in Naarm.
Chloe Padmore is a genderqueer artist, published writer and award-winning photographer based in Naarm (Melbourne).
Laniyuk is a Larrakia, Kungarakan, Gurindji and French political creative whose art practice is grounded in cultural, language and land reclamation.
Katia Bacon is an emerging Aboriginal writer from the Innu community of Pessamit in the Côte-Nord region.
Originally from the Matimekush Lac-John community, Innu artist, actress, writer and community activist Marjolaine Mckenzie is an artist with a passion for theater and community involvement.
Rena Priest is a poet, essayist, and enrolled member of the Lummi Nation. She served as the sixth Washington State Poet Laureate (2021-2023) and was the first Indigenous person to hold this post.
Singer-songwriter and violist Sandrine Masse has been lending her voice and viola to diverse musical projects for over 15 years, including her multidisciplinary duo Les Coz des maïs.
Part Atayal from the New Kayo Tribes (Slamaw) on his father’s side and part Bunun on his mother’s side, Temu Sayan’s first book, Fishbone, the poetry collection, won once-in-a-lifetime New Bud Award in the 2024 Taiwan Literature Awards.
Waiariki Parata-Taiapa is pāpā to three adventurous young Māori tamariki, whose passion lies in bringing pūrākau to life through creative writing, art and waiata.
These wonderful people have created a new piece in response to the title ‘Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow’ in the genre of their choosing. The works will then be published in the partner Cities. There will then be an online discussion series in the style of the project we previously delivered called The Stories We Tell Ourselves, before the videos are presented across the City of Literature network and as part of Blak & Bright in 2026.
We’re working on the next steps behind the scenes, so keep an eye on City of Literature, plus our own socials and website for updates on this exciting project!