Thanks to a 2021 grant from the Northern Territory Government, the most recent exhibition space now has professional lighting and is ready to show local visual art.

The Laneway Gallery adjoins the centre's larger Lambert Gallery and is currently presenting Healing Country and Community, photographs by Renae Saxby of the 2021 landmark gathering of 260 women at Banatjarl as part of the Strong Women for Healthy Country Network.

The images offer a close look at an important historical event of our times-not far away on Jawoyn Country and involving friends, neighbours, and people we may know or come across in our daily lives.

"We want the Laneway Gallery to be a place that reveals who we are, explores sense of place, and delves into cultural identity," says Godinymayin director Eric Holowacz.

"We want to challenge Territory photographers and media artists to capture our world and 21st century happenings, and bring something to our cultural facility.

"The Laneway gallery is open to that, and maybe with future exhibitions and photographic collections we can create new visual archives of life in our times."

Godinymayin is now accepting proposals and expressions of interest from local photographers, young artists under 25, and emerging creative people wanting to have their work shown in the public gallery.

With recent funding from the Northern Territory Government, the non-profit organisation is also developing a new Youth Photography Corps as an ongoing after-school program to help train and inspire Katherine young people in documentary and fine art photography.

With some of the intended future Laneway Gallery programming, Holowacz and his team hope to build up an historical archive that tells about the Katherine Region-the people, places, landscapes, wild life, buildings, and natural wonders.

"As we come out of the pandemic, and expand our facilities, Godinymayin will also find new ways to grow our role as cultural hub and conservator of our important cultural identities," said Mr Holowacz.

"We want ideas, creative energy, collaborations, and programming that give us a sense of wonder or a better understanding of the world. That's at the heart of our purpose."

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