The Governor of the State of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir, AC, CVO, has confirmed that she will open the Fabric of our Culture exhibition, showcasing the work of local Bundjalung women textile artists.

Fabric of our Culture is an exhibition of new works from Casino's Wake up Time Women, the Saltwater Women of Ballina, and the People of the Reeds from Cabbage Tree Island.

Works for the show have been in development since January, as part of an artisan initiative managed by Arts Northern Rivers' Indigenous Arts Development Officer Robert Appo, with expert input from local fashion and textile consultant, Wendy Powitt.

Rob explains that each of the three groups work independently in their communities, producing works from traditional weaving, fibre art, silk dying and textile design.

In working towards a collaborative exhibition, they have been encouraged to experiment with new applications of their work, including the development of a range of artisan homeware products incorporating their unique weaving and textile designs.

Arts Northern Rivers engaged Wendy Powitt to assist Rob with this project by running a series of workshops on product development and presentation, and mentoring the women through the processes of selecting product lines, textile finishing to professional standards, pricing their work and taking it to market.

The results include a series of hand dyed, overprinted, painted and stitched art quilts, showcasing the People of the Reed's textile work; a collection of lamps constructed from natural plant fibres interwoven with silk dyed with Indigenous plant dyes, by the Wake Up Time Women; and a mural mapping the traditional movement of people between the recognised Indigenous sites of Cabbage Tree island, Evans Head and Ballina, made from hand dyed and printed textiles and stretching five metres in length.

"The women have woven their stories, both traditional and contemporary into the textile pieces and are excited to have the opportunity to share their unique experiences of Aboriginal life in Northern NSW with the broader community," Rob says.

Fabric of our Culture opens at 2.30pm on Saturday July 2, at the Boomalli Aboriginal Art Gallery in Sydney, and will run for four weeks until July 29.

Artists from each of the womens' groups will attend the Sydney opening, thanks to support from Arts NSW.

Since 1987 Boomalli has continued to promote the original objectives of the founding artist members by providing support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists so that they can exhibit, define and promote Aboriginal art with Aboriginal endorsed guidance. For more information, go to www.boomalli.com.au/.