State Library exhibition explores 200 years of Albany’s history

The State Library of Western Australia will mark Albany’s 200‑year milestone with a new immersive exhibition that re‑frames a major moment in the state’s history through a First Nations lens.

Opening on Monday, May 18, Kinjarling Djinnang Ngalak | Country Sees Us brings the Albany region’s dramatic and much‑loved landscapes to the heart of the city, shining a spotlight on Kinjarling’s natural landscape pre- and post-colonisation.

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.

On arrival, visitors are invited to step into a quiet, six‑metre‑wide dome inspired by a traditional Noongar bush shelter, known as a ‘kornt’. Designed to encourage stillness, reflection and deep listening, the space offers a place 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. These include reflections by Carol Pettersen, Lester Coyne, Mark Colbung, Vernice Gillies, Doreen Hancox and Sharrlyn Maddren, who share stories and knowledge of Country.

“Kinjarling Djinnang Ngalak invites audiences to encounter Kinjarling as a living, speaking Country, one that holds memory, story and responsibility,” said Denien Toomath, Senior Partnerships Officer at the State Library. “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.”

“As a Menang Noongar woman, my connection to Kinjarling is deeply personal. This exhibition reflects the continuity of our stories across generations and affirms our right to tell our stories in our own voices.”

These new stories and oral histories sit side by side in the exhibition with the early maps, photography and illustrations in the State Library’s 137-year-old collection.

Another visual highlight of the exhibition is six large-scale, multi-angle lenticular prints of the Kinjarling landscape which shift as audiences move through the space. Digitally reworked using AI under Aboriginal creative direction, the works reveal layers of change over time, moving between past and present landscapes.

This immersive experience also features a newly commissioned animation weaving Menang artist and academic Shandell Cumming’s artworks with centuries-old maps, photographs and illustrations from State Library collections, produced by leading WA media artist Steven Alyian.

The exhibition also launches Dialogues, the State Library’s four‑year public program designed to spark conversation about the past, present and future of Western Australia in the lead‑up to the 2029 bicentenary of the establishment of the Swan River Colony.

Kinjarling Djinnang Ngalak | Country Sees Us is showing at the State Library of Western Australia from Monday, May 18 until early 2027. It is free to attend. For more information, head to slwa.wa.gov.au