Talented young local storyteller, playwright and performing artist, Brodie Murray, was among the finalists at the National NAIDOC Awards held at the Brisbane Convention Centre on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Yapeen local did not pick up the award on this occasion he was extremely proud to once again be recognised for his work in the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The award nomination comes after Brodie was named ‘Mr Vic NAIDOC’ at the annual Victorian NAIDOC Awards held in Melbourne last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The play was inspired by the story of his Nan, Lorraine Murray, and her Ngarrindgeri family\u2019s secret journey across country in the 1940s, by horse and cart, under the cover of night to evade the welfare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’d like to think that my work has had a positive effect on other youth, and I’ve been mentored in the past and so I pay that energy back by mentoring through the Melbourne Theatre Company’s First Peoples Young Artists program,” Brodie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest honours recognise the young Indigenous performer’s achievements in the arts and in particular his latest play The Whisper, <\/em>which was staged at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in October 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 22-year-old told the Express <\/em>it was important to be telling First Nations stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It is important to be telling our stories to educate, to shed a light on what our people have been through to survive,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest accolades follow on from the Wamba Wamba and Ngarrindjeri actor’s success at the 7News Young Achiever Awards in April, where he received the inaugural ‘Sofitel Melbourne on Collins Arts Award’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In May 2022, Brodie was also among the recipients of the Australia Council\u2019s First Nations Arts awards in Sydney, receiving the ‘First Nations Emerging Career Development Award’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last few years have been a whirlwind for the performing artist who completed his studies at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts before spending two years writing, developing and performing his own work and acting in other productions with theatre companies in Melbourne including La Mama Theatre and the Melbourne Theatre Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n