The “Always Was, Always Will Be Bakandji Fashion Collection” was initially listed as closing on 6 June. The garments, designed by Bakandji Elder Aunty Jeanie Mason, are still hanging at the Bowery Gallery and will remain on display until 12 July 2026.
Entry is free. The exhibition sits inside the St Albans Community Centre at 33 Princess Street, a venue that has previously shown Aunty Jeanie’s work as part of the Be Bold Blakout exhibition lineup. For anyone who bookmarked the earlier date and moved on, there are just over three weeks left to walk through these pieces.
Aunty Jeanie Mason has been creating in Brimbank for years. Her public art and textiles are threaded through the area, from the “Meeting Place” artwork she created for Brimbank’s Reconciliation Action Plan to her workshops with kids through the Kids Art Lab program. This collection draws on Dreamtime stories of Kirra Kirra Country, the Wilcannia and Baaka regions of New South Wales that she carries into every garment.
The show was opened as part of local NAIDOC programming, a collaboration between Creative Brimbank and Brimbank City Council. With the gallery open Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, the exhibition is built for a daytime visit. Aunty Jeanie is a long-standing member of the Brimbank Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee, and the work reflects the kind of cultural presence that consultation alone cannot capture.
Garments are displayed within the broader community centre, so the location is the Bowery Gallery specifically rather than a standalone arts precinct. The centre is a hub that tends to quiet down during business hours, giving the collection the sort of uninterrupted viewing that larger venues cannot promise.
NAIDOC Week events are still rolling out across Brimbank, with related programming listed on the Creative Brimbank website. If the fashion exhibition is the drawcard, the council is urging visitors to pair it with the other First Nations cultural events scheduled in the same period. Details are being updated regularly online.
The free-standing installation closes at 4:30 pm on 12 July. Miss that date and the collection comes down, its next showing unannounced.
Quick Facts
Brimbank City Council
Local government authority for the City of Brimbank in Melbourne’s western suburbs. It delivers community, arts, cultural and reconciliation programs including support for First Nations artists and NAIDOC events.
Creative Brimbank
Council-run arts and culture program promoting local exhibitions, artist registries and community creative events across Brimbank venues including the Bowery Gallery.