A new choir for First Nations youth and children, Binma Winda, is providing a unique opportunity for young people to celebrate their culture and heritage through music.
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The choir is the first of its kind to come to Ballarat, and is led by Maegan Boundey, a Badimaya/Yamatji woman with a wealth of musical and theatre experience.
Binma Winda provides Boundey with a platform to share her musical skills with young people that may not have received the same opportunities as she did.
"It gave me so many skills, not just musical skills, but personal skills and confidence and things that I carry all through my life," she said.
"It's just something that not everyone has access to."
Boundey was originally a social worker, and has worked with First Nations children and young people in the support sector.
"I've worked with First Nations kids in the justice system which is pretty harrowing, you know, quite bleak," she said.
During her time as a social worker, Boundey saw many young people receive clinical care, but noticed a gap in holistic healing and activities.
"I feel like access to the arts is the most healing thing," she said.
The choir will celebrate culture by incorporating local language and music by First Nations artists such as Briggs and Jessica Mauboy.
Boundey hopes that the young people who participate in the choir will feel a sense of connection and pride about their culture.
"It would be so good for the kids to be able to be part of something exciting, that's also celebrating their culture and connecting them together through music," she said.
The name of the choir, Binma Winda, comes from the language of Boundey's mob, Badimia, and means 'red tree'.
Red Tree Community Arts is a small business run by Boundey in Ballarat that works alongside other support services to bring an extra layer of healing through creative arts.
In future, Boundey plans for the choir to perform at First Nations events such as Sorry Day and NAIDOC week, and other events in Ballarat.
"The sky's the limit," she said.
Rehearsals are every Wednesday night from 6pm to 7pm at Trades Hall on Camp Street.
The rehearsals cost $5 to attend, and will become free if the choir receives sponsors in future.
