Garma Festival, Australia's largest Indigenous cultural exchange festival, returns to the Gulkula ceremonial site in North-East Arnhem Land from 4-7 August 2023.
The annual festival, which is celebrating 23 years, brings together clan leaders from across Arnhem Land to share traditional Yolngu culture, ideas and policy discussions over four days with visitors, including government leaders.
Supported by the Northern Territory Government, the theme for this year's pre-eminent festival is Djambatj - Yolngu brilliance, skill, excellence.
This year, Garma attendees will also pay tribute to Yunupingu and honour his legacy during the festival. Yunupingu was a pioneer of the land rights movement and Indigenous rights, a former chair of the Northern Land Council and co-founder of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and, subsequently, the Garma Festival.
The sold-out festival includes the Bunggul - traditional dance - each evening, the open-air Gapan art gallery, which celebrates 20 years, the Key Forum and a varied program of music. There is also a Youth Forum which will explore leadership and new ways of thinking, along with hands-on cultural workshops.
The Key Forum is the think-tank component of the festival, where policy experts and community leaders discuss and debate issues impacting Yolngu and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
