Indigenous Community Volunteers

Blending the Cultural Fabric

Contemporary Nyoongar textile designer Francine Kickett is in high demand. Amongst her accomplishments is being named Western Australia’s Indigenous Artist of the Year in 2001.

 Working under her label ‘Bushwa’, Francine’s work is highly influenced by her connection with the environment. She is inspired by the way that Aboriginal people can keep their roots and tell their story in a modern context. The idea is a timely one—fashion commentators around the world are calling designers to seek innovation by getting back to their roots.

Francine’s striking designs have featured in the catwalks of Australia, Malaysia and Hong Kong. With success on the rise, Francine stood on the verge of an opportunity to take her business to the next level.

 ‘Bushwa’ has aroused remarkable interest in Malaysia but the business is at a crossroads.

While contracts and orders from the Malaysian market wait on paper—the funding needed to support production is lacking. Frustrated by fruitless efforts in seeking Aboriginal economic development assistance from various sources, she contacted ICV with the intention to gain the skills required to access the financial assistance needed to support her work.

A long term ICV volunteer, Gaynor Nichols, was selected for the role. Unique to this project is that the skills transfer occurred in the home town of the volunteer.

Francine travelled to one of Australia’s fashion capitals, Sydney to strengthen her skills in accessing funding sources, grant and report writing along with business and strategic planning.

Francine hopes that the skills transfer will assist her to take her business to the next level and fulfil the demand for her work.

 “I realised that there had to be a holistic view to what I was doing, that in order for Bushwa to survive, I needed to make it happen in the real world” said Francine.

 A wider business goal for her however, has always been to engage other Indigenous talent in the process, “the bigger picture is getting other emerging designers in the door with me; there is a collective of really talented Indigenous people” said Francine “for me, that would be killing two birds with one stone.”

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