AWAYE! brings you diverse and vibrant Aboriginal arts and culture from across Australia.

In the final episode of Awaye for 2025, Rudi Bremer and co-host Marcus Wright reflect back on a huge year for Blak art in Australia. Plus we hear from some friends of Awaye and the art that has moved, changed or transformed them this year.  And for Word Up Dr Jesse Hodgetts shares the Wangaaypuwan word for unity. 

Burlesque performer Bizzi Body has been researching the history of Blak burlesque.  It's a journey that's led her to leg shows, nightclubs, and Aunty Veronica Barnett — a living legend who swallowed fire, charmed pythons and shimmied her away across 1960s nightclub stages from Brisbane to Tahiti.

Artistic director Tony Albert gives a guided tour of the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia.

Discover the major survey Super Kaylene Whiskey at the National Portrait Gallery, with over 80 works of paintings, video, and installations, where tradition meets the dancefloor and pop icons walk on Country. Then head to the Museum of Contemporary Art where BARKAA took home the inaugural NSW First Nations Music Prize. And for Word Up Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves shares one more word in Warlpiri.

On January 16, 1988, Rudi's cousin Mark Haines, a young Gomeroi man, was found dead on railway tracks outside Tamworth—the day after Rudi was born.  Thirty-seven years later, Mark's siblings Lorna and Ron Boy continue to attend coronial inquest hearings, searching for answers about what really happened to their brother. Rudi sits down with Lorna and Ron Boy in an intimate conversation about what it means to endure an inquest decades after losing someone you love.  Content warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are respectfully advised that this episode contains the names and voices of people who have died. This episode also includes content that may cause distress. Please take care when listening.

Yurlu | Country's director Yaara Bou Melhem and Banjima Traditional Owner Janelle Parker, share how they made a film about environmental devastation that's ultimately about love, resilience, and hope. Then head to the waterways of the Royal National Park in Sydney's south with Uncle Dean Kelly where platypus are breeding for the first time in decades. And for Word Up, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves from Yuendumu shares more of his language – Warlpiri. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this episode includes the names of people who have died.

You know the headlines—the million-dollar paintings, the forgeries that made him the most faked Aboriginal artist in the world. But who was Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, really?

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Uluru Handback with Anangu Elders and artists including Alison Caroll and Rene Kulitja.  Then meet singer-songwriter Sue Ray, whose deep, captivating voice and authentic storytelling has earned her three Queensland Music Awards and recognition across the alt- country scene. Plus for Word Up, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves from Yuendumu shares the phrase for "ceasefire / no guns" as part of his campaign to protect his community. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this story contains the names and voice of Indigenous people who have died.

Clarence Slockee sits alongside Victor Stevenson, author of Fire Country, Professor Brett Summerell from the Royal Botanic Gardens, researcher Doctor Vanessa Cavanagh, and choreographer and performer Henrietta Baird to discuss what it will take for humanity to realign with nature. Plus for Word Up Gari Tudor-Smith Gangulu name for 'catfish'.

Explore opening weekend of Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi at the Art Gallery of South Australia with Yhonnie Scarce, Carol Puruntatameri, Libby Harward and Dominique Chen. Plus for Word Up Gari Tudor-Smith shares the Gangulu  word for bird.

Dakota Feirer's poetry collection Arsenic Flower blossomed in the soil of stolen Country thanks to love, resistance and sacrifice. He discusses negating the cycles of trauma, and the experience of finishing a manuscript while living and studying overseas. Then head to SXSW Sydney with Awesome Black's founder and Executive Directory, Travis de Vries.  And for Word Up, Gari Tudor-Smith reflects on the way familiar stories and words that are familiar, deepen in meaning over time.

Candice discusses the how Uncle Archie Roach's Singing Our Futures program nurtures emerging musical talent, and introduces some of this year's remarkable cohort of mentees: Naomi Diane, Torres Green, and Wren Arkose. Plus, for Word Up Gari Tudor-Smith shares a Gangulu word with a dual meaning.

ILBIJERRI Theatre Company has welcomed celebrated playwright, director and dramaturge Andrea James as their new artistic director and co-CEO. Andrea discusses what drew her to the role, and why she intends to celebrate "Boldness, Blakness and Brilliance" in all its full power.

Mooghalin Performing Arts’ artistic director  and co-founder Lily Shearer and producer Leroy Parsons discuss how the biennial Yellamundie Festival is bringing together First Nations creatives to develop six sound, movement and theatre works. Then former Bangarra dancer Yolande Brown returns to the company as a creative force behind their new work for children: The Bogon’s Song. And for Word Up language champion Ray Dimakarri Dixon shares the Mudburra word for ‘water’.

Loki Liddle and Reece Bowden from Selve discuss the subversive energy of developing their album Breaking into Heaven on Jabbir Jabbir Country, refinind it in Paris, and recording it at Abbey Road. Plus, for Word Up Ray Dimakarri Dixon shares the Mudburra word for a ‘spirit’ or ‘guide’ of Country.

Having published her memoir Long Yarn Short, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts discusses the provocation that "writing is activism" and consider how stories can build bridges where bureaucracy has built walls. Plus, for Word Up Ray Dimakarri Dixon shares the Mudburra word for 'tree'.

Journey to the warm, salty breezes of Far North Queensland where Torres Strait Islander author Lenora Thacker has set her debut historical fiction novel that pulses with three living languages. The Pearl of Tagai Town weaves Kala Lagaw Ya, Meriam Mir, and Yumplatok into a groundbreaking wartime love story. Plus for Word Up, language legend Neenah Gray shares more of her father's language—Darumbal. 

Fresh from her National Indigenous Music Awards  Hall of Fame induction, Jessica Mauboy traces her journey from classroom rebel to cultural powerhouse.

Gamilaroi poet Luke Patterson debuts an explosive new poetry collection titled: A Savage Turn. Awaye remembers the life and legacy of Uncle Noel Tovey, an incredible man who has had a profound impact on Blak dance and theatre. Plus for Word Up, Neenah Gray shares more of the Darumbal language.