Dr Mandy S Nicholson
Born in Healesville, Mandy is a Wurundjeri artist and Traditional Custodian of Narrm (Melbourne) and surrounds. She also has connections to the Dja Dja wurrung and Ngurai illum wurrung Language Groups of Victoria on her father's side and German on her mother's.
For the last 30+ years through her art business Tharangalk Art, Mandy has produced carvings, etchings, prints, airbrushed works, murals, digital and painted works, drone works, language audio installations and public art. First Nation art styles are regionally based with Wurundjeri being fresh water, bush people, with a carving culture of symmetrical lines and diamond motifs.
Mandy has worked with architects and landscape architects to create cultural safety within public spaces as well as corporate interiors/fit outs. She has also coauthored a masterplan and worked as a cultural consultant for many years. She has authored and coauthored papers around the topic of embedding First People's perspectives through design and planning regimes in an urban environment.
Mandy mentors First Nation young girls through learning and teaching of culture, language, dance, and maintenance of ceremonial practices. She created Djirri Djirri dance group in 2013 to create cultural grounding and support network. She also rekindled an ancient Coming of Age ceremony called Murrum Turrukurruk, alongside two Wurundjeri Elders in 2015 after 185 years of it not being practiced. This work was recognized in 2022 by winning the Ganbu Gulinj (One Mob) section of the Melbourne Awards. Djirri Djirri have performed locally, nationally and internationally.
Mandy gained a Bachelor of Arts (2nd class Honours) in Aboriginal Archaeology in 2011, worked for the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL) for six years becoming a Woiwurrung language specialist in addition to her almost 30 years of language revival.
Mandy completed her PhD in 2023 focusing on Country and how people connect to it Off Country. Titled 'On Country Off Country' her research highlights layers of Country, physical and spiritual ways of connecting and how you carry Country within you no matter where and 'when' (genetic memory) you are.
For the last 30+ years through her art business Tharangalk Art, Mandy has produced carvings, etchings, prints, airbrushed works, murals, digital and painted works, drone works, language audio installations and public art. First Nation art styles are regionally based with Wurundjeri being fresh water, bush people, with a carving culture of symmetrical lines and diamond motifs.
Mandy has worked with architects and landscape architects to create cultural safety within public spaces as well as corporate interiors/fit outs. She has also coauthored a masterplan and worked as a cultural consultant for many years. She has authored and coauthored papers around the topic of embedding First People's perspectives through design and planning regimes in an urban environment.
Mandy mentors First Nation young girls through learning and teaching of culture, language, dance, and maintenance of ceremonial practices. She created Djirri Djirri dance group in 2013 to create cultural grounding and support network. She also rekindled an ancient Coming of Age ceremony called Murrum Turrukurruk, alongside two Wurundjeri Elders in 2015 after 185 years of it not being practiced. This work was recognized in 2022 by winning the Ganbu Gulinj (One Mob) section of the Melbourne Awards. Djirri Djirri have performed locally, nationally and internationally.
Mandy gained a Bachelor of Arts (2nd class Honours) in Aboriginal Archaeology in 2011, worked for the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL) for six years becoming a Woiwurrung language specialist in addition to her almost 30 years of language revival.
Mandy completed her PhD in 2023 focusing on Country and how people connect to it Off Country. Titled 'On Country Off Country' her research highlights layers of Country, physical and spiritual ways of connecting and how you carry Country within you no matter where and 'when' (genetic memory) you are.
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A First Nation person feels these connections, like everyone else, but there are so many more layers that make up this ‘connection’. One of the most profound examples is connection to Country.
This thesis considers how First Nation people remain connected or regain connection after displacement and generational ‘unavailability’ of many elements of culture and language. It is written by a First Nation person from a First Nation perspective. The case study focus of this research is the Gunditjmara people of Western Victoria, Australia.
Connection to Country must explore the connections of the Deep Past of First Nations Peoples and how this connection formed since time immemorial and how it continues. Research results indicate that connection to Country for a First Nation person and their community relies on not only the tangible, but also sensing the intangible, like spirituality, and linking all these varied and complex elements together. There is a clear lack of research on how First Nation People connect this way with Country when they do not physically live On Country. This thesis reveals the varied strategies used by Gunditjmara people to maintain connection to Country irrespective of where they live physically. The research results are relevant for not only First Nation Australians, but First Nations People around the world. Results will also inform the wider community on how First Nations culture remains strong and alive, even when one does not live On Country.