Bold moment: a Inuit legend leaps from the ice to the sails of the Sydney Opera House, reaching audiences halfway across the world. Ningiukulu Teevee’s animated interpretation of The Owl and the Raven unfolds high above the harbor, turning a local tale into a global experience—and inviting you to weigh human nature against tradition.
Kinngait artist Ningiukulu Teevee is presenting the Inuit legend The Owl and the Raven to Australian audiences, with her illustrated imagery projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House as part of the nightly First Nations show, Badu Gili: Story Keepers, beginning December 17. The six‑minute animation, created in collaboration with Sydney-based studio Vandal, pairs Teevee’s artwork with paintings by Mervyn Street, a Gooniyandi elder from the Kimberley region of western Australia.
Teevee described the collaboration as a powerful fusion: “It’s amazing that both our works could be one, like they said, from two hemispheres.” The projections will illuminate the opera house sails every night through 2026.
The moment Teevee learned her work would grace this iconic landmark, she felt a mix of disbelief and pure excitement. She traveled to Australia on November 20 with her brother to preview the projection. The long, 13+ hour flight was daunting, yet the journey connected her with her late father, Joanasie Salamonie, who died in 1998 and who himself helped shape Inuit art and media. Salamonie, who also visited Australia in the late 1960s, was a pioneer in Inuit film and television and played a foundational role in the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative.
Teevee’s animation revives the Inuit legend of The Owl and the Raven—a story she first heard as a child from an elder. “Through this animation, I explore how Raven’s restless spirit and Owl’s calm wisdom reflect human nature and the lessons found in our traditions,” she explained in a press release. The tale has stayed with her since childhood, underscoring her belief that only a select few can tell these stories with the depth of song and ayayas. For Teevee, keeping such narratives alive also safeguards language and culture, a sentiment she credits mentor and fellow Kinngait artist Mialia Jaw (died 2006) as an inspiration for her imagery.
The projection is a collaborative effort among the Sydney Opera House, the Biennale of Sydney, and Paris-based Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.
Teevee’s international presence isn’t new. In 2024, 26 of her works were showcased at Stories from Kinngait at Canada House in London. Her oeuvre also includes 47 pieces in the Winnipeg Art Gallery–Qaumajuq collection. In 2023, she received the Inuit Art Foundation’s Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award, which included a solo exhibition at Qaumajuq this fall.
Teevee expressed gratitude for the Australian audience and the teams who brought the project to life, as well as personal thanks to those who supported her along the way: “Thank you for your interest, your hospitality, and, most of all, to the one I love who urged me to carry on—we miss you.”
Would you be curious to see more cross-hemisphere collaborations that blend Indigenous storytelling with contemporary media, or do you prefer traditional presentations of these legends in their original medium?
