Exploring Garma Festival: The Cultural Event Shaping Australia's Future

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Each year in north-east Arnhem Land, the Garma Festival brings together Yolŋu leaders, families, cultural custodians and guests from across Australia for four days of learning, ceremony and exchange.

Held on Gumatj country at Gulkula, a remote ceremonial site near Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory, Garma is Australia’s largest First Nations cultural gathering and one of the country’s most significant forums on Indigenous affairs.

It’s a place where cultural traditions meet pressing national conversations, and where the future is shaped in dialogue with the past.

A deeply cultural event

Garma is hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation and has been running since 1999.

It was established to celebrate Yolŋu culture and share it with the broader Australian community.

From the beginning, it has been led by Yolŋu people, on Yolŋu terms.

Yothu Yindi Foundation CEO Denise Bowden said that Garma was established not only to preserve Yolŋu cultural practices, but also to create a national platform for conversation and leadership grounded in cultural authority.

“But the Yunupiŋu brothers also envisaged that Garma would be a place of serious business – a home to high-level discussion and debate, and a forum to test policy and present Yolŋu knowledge systems. A catalyst for new ideas and fresh thinking,” Bowden said.

The festival is grounded in traditional ceremony, with daily bunggul (dance), manikay (song), and miny’tji (art) shared in the open air.

Storytelling, intergenerational learning and the continuation of songlines are central to the event, offering an immersive cultural experience that invites guests to listen, witness and learn.

Tanya Denning-Orman, SBS Director of Indigenous Content, describes Garma as a significant moment on the national calendar and a privilege to experience.

“Each year, the Yolŋu people open their arms and their hearts to more than 2,500 people at Gulkula, and we’re honoured to extend that invitation to all Australians through our coverage of this significant event,” she said.

How Garma began

The first Garma Festival was held in 1999, initiated by the Yunupingu family and the Yothu Yindi Foundation.

It was conceived as a way to protect and promote Yolŋu cultural knowledge at a time when many Elders feared it was being lost. Gulkula, the festival site, was chosen for its cultural and ceremonial importance, the place where the Yolngu ancestor Ganbulabula brought the yidaki (didgeridoo or an Aboriginal wind instrument) into Yolŋu life.

The late Yolnu leader Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu AC, a founding member of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and a prominent land rights leader, played a central role in establishing Garma as a space where cultural strength and political advocacy could come together.

His legacy continues to shape the event.

When is Garma?

The Garma Festival takes place annually in early August. The 2025 event will run from 1 to 4 August at the Gulkula site, which overlooks the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Gulkula is a sacred site for the Gumatj clan and holds deep ceremonial and cultural significance. The festival is staged in bushland, with participants camping on site and following cultural protocols throughout the event.

A young child in a yellow garb tied around his legs stands in the centre, looking at adult dancers during a traditional dance performance.

A young child performs the bungul surrounded by family. Source: Supplied / yyf.com.au

Why 2025 is a milestone year

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Garma, a significant milestone in its evolution from a regional cultural gathering into a nationally respected event that shapes public dialogue.

The 2025 theme is ‘Law of the Land: Standing Firm’, or in Yolŋu: Matha, ‘Rom ga Waŋa Wataŋu’.

Yothu Yindi Foundation chair Djawa Yunupingu said: “This year’s anniversary theme acknowledges 25 years of achievement and success, and a milestone moment in the life of our event.”

NITV and SBS will be the official media partners, providing coverage across television, radio and digital platforms. This includes daily highlights, special broadcasts and reporting from the ground, allowing audiences around the country to experience Garma from wherever they are.

A space for conversation and change

While Garma is first and foremost a celebration of culture and Country, it is also a respected platform for policy discussion and leadership.

The key forum, held each year during the festival, brings together Indigenous community leaders, policymakers, academics and corporate figures to discuss issues such as truth-telling, treaty, education, economic development and land rights.

The festival has played a pivotal role in amplifying Yolŋu voices and advocating for Indigenous-led solutions in areas such as governance, health and community empowerment.

Anthony Albanese, wearing a hat, is sitting next to a man in a yellow shirt who is speaking with his finger pointing upwards. There's a crowd sitting around them.

Garma, the annual festival and celebration of Yolŋu life and culture, is marking 25 years. Credit: Melanie Faith Dove/Yothu Yindi Foundation

Conversations held at Garma often ripple outward into national policy circles.

Denise Bowden, CEO of Yothu Yindi Foundation, said: “Garma continues to play a really important educational role, helping Australians to better understand Yolngu culture, and ensuring that its practices remain strong and continue to be passed down from one generation to the next.”

Who attends Garma?

Garma brings together a diverse cross-section of Australia: Elders, young people, artists, political leaders, journalists, educators and members of the broader public.

Some come for the music and art, others for the chance to engage in meaningful dialogue. All are invited to participate respectfully and learn from Yolŋu hosts and the broader Arnhem Land community.

Over 25 years, the festival has grown in scale and impact, but its purpose remains the same: to celebrate Yolŋu culture, to uphold traditional knowledge, and to invite others to walk alongside in the spirit of listening and learning.