When Uncle Bruce Pascoe spoke these words at his farm, watching our troupe perform under stars, he gave us more than just praise - he gave us our identity. Sometimes the most serious work needs the lightest touch, and over ten extraordinary days, that's exactly what we proved.
From October 25 to November 3, we embarked on a journey that would help launch IMAGI-NATION TV - an alternative to streaming platforms that harvest your data, a place where Indigenous systems thinking leads the way, where puppets become professors, and imagination helps us face our biggest challenges.
The Journey Unfolded Like This:
We began at dawn on Bondi Beach, greeting grandfather sun with Sea the Weed's first birthday - a year of learning from crayweed about healing Sydney's coastline. That same day, we launched the IMAGI-NATION book, a collaboration between Bronwyn and Jack Manning Bancroft that invites readers into limitless imagination.Our troupe - a blend of dancers, puppeteers, musicians, and magicians - then took Big Story on the road. In school halls and on basketball courts from Ulladulla to Bega, we witnessed how creativity isn't lost but sleeping, waiting to be reawakened. The NASA statistic that haunts us - 98% of 5-year-olds have genius-level imagination, but only 2% of adults retain it - drove us to show different possibilities.
At Uncle Noel Butler's place, we learned that moving a water tank can be ceremony if done with the right intention. At Uncle Bruce's Yumburra Farm, we pulled weeds and planted seeds, understanding that care for country and care for imagination grow from the same root.The journey culminated in Melbourne's Federation Square, where our twenty Professors of IMAGI-NATION {University} joined orchestras and choirs for For All Earthkind, sending a message about climate action to the UN through art and wonder.
But this wasn't just a performance tour. It was a demonstration of our seven principles in action:
Designing with Death (embracing natural cycles)
Art and Imagination (moving energy through creativity)
Improv and Collaboration (building trust through play)
Unlikely Connections (finding wisdom beyond margins)
Non-Human Knowledge (learning from country and creatures)
Water Shareholders (remembering our relation to life)
Tools (sharing resources freely for all)
What Comes Next?
IMAGI-NATION TV launches soon, offering:
Shows led by puppet professors
Stories embedded with Indigenous wisdom
A network that respects your privacy and imagination
Tools for transforming education and community
Schools ready to become Imagination Labs
Organisations transforming into Joy Corps
Citizens preparing for systems change
Young leaders becoming IMAGI-NATION Presidents
