Helen Kassila
Samuel Wagan Watson and Alesa Lajana
Singer songwriter Alesa Lajana sought to work in collaboration with writer/poet Samuel Wagan Watson on a 'Hidden Histories' project, researching and creating songs which bring to light stories from Australia's troubled frontier past between Indigenous Australians and its colonisers.
Singer songwriter, guitarist and banjo troubadour, Alesa's ephemeral voice brings light to darkness in her storytelling music. With genres that cross boundaries between folk music, blues, gypsy melodies and celtic roots, her feminine strength and tenderness is beautifully showcased in her album 'Secret Garden' released in 2010.
Contemporary Indigenous Australian writer Samuel Wagan Watson broke new ground when he won both the New South Wales Premiers Book of the Year award and the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize in 2005 for his collection of poetry 'Smoke Encrypted Whispers'. Samuel lives in the southside of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia where is he developing his next collection of poetry to be published by University of Queensland Press (UQP).
Singer songwriter Alesa Lajana sought to work in collaboration with writer/poet Samuel Wagan Watson on a 'Hidden Histories' project, researching and creating songs which bring to light stories from Australia's troubled frontier past between Indigenous Australians and its colonisers.