Discover and celebrate the built, cultural and natural heritage of Boorloo (Perth) at the Once Known exhibition, featuring an engaging lineup of workshops and talks throughout April.

Kaya Boodja!| Sensory Play Drop-In Sessions
Children and families are invited to enjoy a free drop-in sensory play experience inspired by Noongar Country. Using natural textures, bush scents, flowers and leaves, children can explore and connect with the land. Older children can get creative at the clay creation station, where they will make pinch pot gumnuts, found on Noongar Country.
Dates: Runs each weekday in April (excluding public holidays and 7 April)
Times: 11am – 3pm (Arrive when you like and leave when you’re ready.)
This is a self-guided activity; however parental supervision is essential.

Truth Talk: Truth Telling in the Academy
Dr. Hannah McGlade and Dr. Carol Dowling will present an overview of the 2026 Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry examining racism in universities. As the foreword to the report notes, “Many universities were established as colonial institutions… They were built upon a foundation of racism and systemic exclusion, starting with the First Peoples of this land”. The talk will also discuss the issue of racism more widely as it impacts Aboriginal people, especially in Western Australia. Aboriginal resistance, truth-telling and human rights must be respected as part of the journey to address racism which is systemic and structural, deeply embedded across systems and places.
Date: Thursday 16 April
Time: 10am – 11am

Motifs of Country: Children’s Badge Making Workshop
In this free one-hour session, children will explore how artists use pattern, colour, and symbols from nature to express their connection to the world around them. They will begin by carefully observing a selection of natural objects – such as leaves, seeds, banksia and other materials – and design their own unique motif inspired by these forms. Once their design is complete, children will transform their artwork into a custom badge using a badge-making machine, creating a special keepsake to take home. This workshop is facilitated by Mel Macaulay, Education Coordinator at the John Curtin Gallery.
Date: Friday 17 April 2026
Times: 11:00am – 12:00pm and 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Truth Talk: Telling Our Truth
In this talk, set within the Once Known exhibition at the Old Perth Boys’s School, Zali Morgan (Whadjuk Balladong Wilman Yorga, Carrolup Curator JCG) considers how truth can be held and communicated through art, exhibition-making, and institutional responsibility. For many years, First Nations culture, stories and art have been told and interpreted through Western and anthropological lenses, resulting in forms of othering that misrepresent lived realities and cultural knowledge. Drawing on her work with the Carrolup Collection, Zali explores how curators can create space for First Nations voices to lead. Truth in art is not singular or static; it is lived, layered, and ongoing, shaped by Country, community, and lived experience.
Date: Thursday 23 April
Time: 10am – 11am

Once Known Exhibition Tours
Showing at the Old Perth Boys’ School, Once Known presents reproductions of the delicate and culturally significant artworks created by Aboriginal children forcibly taken from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s. Lost overseas for over 60 years, these artworks came home to Noongar Boodja, providing the opportunity for sharing truth, healing, and reconciliation.Through the beauty of art and recognition of place and time, these tours will offer a glimpse into the past and remind us of our journey together on a path of reconciliation. The tours will encompass the history of the Old Perth Boys’ School in the context of its colonial history and highlight the story of the Carrolup child artists, and the purpose of the Once Known exhibition. Tours led by Patricia Ryder, Community Engagement Facilitator, John Curtin Gallery; and Phoebe Milne, PhD candidate, Curtin University.
Dates: Tuesdays and Fridays in April (excluding Friday April 3 and Tuesday April 7)
Times: 10am – 11am

Terms and Conditions apply, visit in venue to find out more.