Sayes Arares

Next date: Tuesday, 16 September 2025 | 10:00 AM to 04:00 PM

Sayes Arares is a poetic multichannel visual and sonic documentary that takes the audience deep into the Middle Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. Immerse yourself in this extraordinary world in the sensory splendour of the David Li Sound Gallery.

On this journey we hear the Sayes Arares songs: a unique sound and tumbuna (ancestral) belief system held and told in the playing of the mambu (bamboo) flutes.

Extending on a creative relationship that has spanned over 30 years, Sayes Arares is a collaborative project by musicians Gaius Wapi, Pius Wasi, Joachim Mamambi, and David Bridie, with video artist K Verell and the many cultural artists from Changriman Village, Chambri Lakes.

Using the technological capabilities of the David Li Sound Gallery, you will be transported to rural Papua New Guinea for a unique cultural experience that few outsiders are privileged to witness.

Audiences are invited to experience the free installation in their own time from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Friday, and to join us for a ticketed special showing on Tues 16 Sept at 6pm followed by an artists talk and Q&A featuring David Bridie, Gaius Wapi and K Verell.