The Mulka Project Staff

We strive to employ and train as many Yolngu of all ages as possible in full time and casual appointments, and currently have thirteen staff varying from 16 to 57 years of age. Seven of these are our most successful secondary student participants in the film workshops who were hired for a summer job and occasional work outside of school hours.

Project Leadership

Co-Director Raymattja Marika is a woman of the Rirratjingu clan, daughter of Roy Dadaynga Marika who, as Yirrkala Dhanbul Council chairman in the 1970s, guided Yirrkala through extremely tough times of change.  Raymattja has extensive experience with outside academic and government institutions and is a 2007 Territorian of the Year, a council member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and on the board of directors of Reconciliation Australia.  She was at the forefront of the development of curriculum for the education of Yolngu youth as well as the teaching of Yolngu languages and culture to outsiders at Charles Darwin University.  Her roles with the Mulka Project are to work with the young employees to help their literacy skills both in English and Yolngu languages, to work on translation and documentation projects and to represent the community’s interests to outside institutions.

Wukun Wanambi, the second Co-Director, is a middle-aged man growing as a leader of his Marrakulu clan.  While Raymattja’s role is largely in education and liaison with outside institutions, Wukun’s status as a ceremonial man of his people qualifies him to liaise with other leaders in the Miwatj and to handle sensitive materials.  This point was discussed and considered very carefully with Wukun and other leaders.  He has been assigned to be the first person to see potentially sensitive and secret-sacred materials from the region, to do his best to confirm their origin and to direct the items to the proper parties for further discussion.  For instance, an institution may have audio recordings of music labelled as secret-sacred from the northeast Arnhem Land region.  Wukun and the Mulka Project coordinator will privately listen to the material.  Wukun will verify whether it is indeed from this area and do his best to identify the current owners and custodians of the songs and arrange for them to hear it for themselves and determine what to do with it.

The Coordinator is Randin Graves, a musician who first visited Yirrkala in 1999 and relocated from California in 2004 on a Fulbright Fellowship to undertake a master’s by research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.  He volunteered at Buku-Larrnggay Mulka to manage the didjeridu department while working on a project to help Yolngu express to the world their feeling about and ownership of the instrument that has been globalised and commodified.  This resulted in a comprehensive website and instructional CD.  He moved on to full time work at the art centre, and now his IT skills, academic and music recording background and eight year relationship with Yolngu make him a good match for the Mulka Project.