First 5 Forever
State Library of Queensland
About
First 5 Forever is a place-based, family-centred program delivered by Queensland public libraries, Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs), local government libraries, and partner organisations. The play-based program supports Queensland families to ‘talk, read, sing and play’ with their babies and young children during the first five years. First 5 Forever promotes greater access to child-focused spaces, offering free activities and resources for families.
Saltwater People were invited to co-design a dynamic First Nations visual brand identity and catalogue of photographs of diverse families.
CLIENT
ARTIST
PHOTOGRAPHY
Talei Elu and Jasmine Raymond
THE ARTIST
Bernard Lee Singleton
Bernard Singleton is an accomplished craftsman, curator and designer, born and living in Cairns. Singleton grew up in Coen, Cape York. His mother is a Djabuguy woman born in Mona Mona mission near Kuranda and his father is an Umpila (east coast Cape York)/Yirrkandji man from Yarrabah mission.
Bernard paints, crafts and makes artefacts to ground himself and connect with his ancestors, who help bring his work to life. His work is a way for him to acknowledge and remember the times of his great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers, and his designs are inspired by the laws of nature and the forms found in the creation stories.
Nyurramba Garran represents the gathering of many people in one sitting to learn and receive knowledge.
ARTWORK STORY
Nyurramba Garran
Nyurramba Garran – Meaning “All come” or “Everyone come” represents the gathering of many people in one sitting to learn and receive knowledge.
People of tomorrow and our learning from Country as it is the idea of learning beyond the classroom and identifying relationships from diverse students’ backgrounds and their communities. This is apparent in nature, as it can be observed simply by looking.
Whether it be the inland open country and the young kangaroos at play, and how we imitate this in our corroboree. This is represented in the background with the tap sticks.
The family of flying foxes and how they read the seasonal changes, migrating in their hundreds to and from food sources, and how we too read the weather.
The movement in numbers of the stingray, whether it be on the outer reef or in our estuaries, as if they are talking to each other in unison, and the Cassowary singing throughout the rainforest to their young as they search for berries and sour plum in the early mornings.
Approach
We partnered with Bernard Singleton Jr. to co-create a community-centred visual identity. Bernie’s engaging and vibrant artwork, Nyurramba Garran, represents learning on Country – through the program’s core themes of talk, sing, read, and play. Nyurramba Garran has been used across print, digital, and merchandise in libraries throughout the state, and most famously on their gigantic billboard in the Queensland Cultural Centre, located on the Brisbane River at South Bank.
Saltwater People and First Nations photographers Talei Elu and Jasmine Raymond also developed a suite of images reflecting diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families from across Queensland communities, including Seisia on Cape York. Our intersectional approach ensures LGBTQIA+ and single-parent families, and others, are also represented.
Talei Elu
Jasmine Raymond
IMPACT PRIORITIES
IMPACT PARTNERS
