Living Histories: First Nations Creatives and Researchers in conversation - History Week 2025

This panel brings together First Nations creatives and history-makers to discuss how they weave cultural, family, and community histories into their work. The panel will explore how “living histories” continue to shape research, storytelling, history-making, and creative practice. How can history live beyond the archive? And what does it mean to research and create in ways that honour intergenerational memory?

The panel will run for 1 hour with refreshments and mingling afterwards. 

Sponsored by the Powerful Stories Network, the History Council of New South Wales, and the Vere Gordon Childe Centre for the Study of Humanity Through Time.

When: 11 Sep 2025, 17:00 - 18:30

Location: The Vere Gordon Childe Centre, University of Sydney

This event is sponsored by the Powerful Stories Network, the Vere Gordon Childe Centre for the Study of Humanitiy Through Time, and the History Council of NSW

Registration is essential

About the panelists 

Samantha Snedden

Sammi is a Wiradjuri and Dunghutti woman based on Wangl land. She is an experienced creative producer and an emerging artist/curator who is committed to building meaningful connections between communities and cultural institutions. Sammi’s practice centres on weaving and poetry, and her first exhibition in 2023 that combined the two, ‘The Enlightenment’, was held at First Draft gallery. In 2024 Sammi was selected for the National Museum of Australia’s ‘Encounters Fellowship’ which offered emerging creatives the opportunity to engage in cross-cultural opportunities working with cultural materials held at Te Papa Museum in Aotearoa and the British Museum and Oxford University in the UK. Driven by a strong belief in collaboration, Sammi works to bridge the divide between colonial institutions and the diverse communities they represent all the while striving to foster cultural experiences that are genuine and impactful to those she serves.

Lily Thomas-Mcknight

Lily is a proud Wiradjuri and Gomeroi woman with ties to Yuin Country. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) at the University of Sydney, majoring in Printmedia and completed a minor in Archaeology. Lily’s art practice is influenced by her Aboriginal heritage and wish to connect to her culture. Lily has worked as a Curatorial Assistant in Indigenous Heritage at the Chau Chak Wing Museum and later as an Exhibition Producer (Curator) and First Nations Research Officer for the City of Sydney. She aims to continue working as a curator after university, focusing on Indigenous art and communities. 

Amy Davidson

Associate Lecturer Amy Davidson and a  proud Wiradjuri woman on her mother’s side with mixed Anglo-settler heritage on her father’s side. Amy holds a BA in Government & International Relations and Indigenous Studies, and began a Masters in Education (by Research) in 2019, later upgrading to a PhD in 2022. Her doctoral research takes an interdisciplinary approach to defining Aboriginal Community-Led research, exploring how it differs from other community-centred methodologies from an Indigenous perspective. Amy has coordinated and taught across a range of Aboriginal Education and Indigenous Studies units at the University of Sydney. Amy has presented lectures and workshops for undergraduate, postgraduate, and Aboriginal community audiences, and has contributed to projects such as the FASS-funded Community-Led Research Project. Amy’s work has been shared at national and international conferences including WHRN, AAA, NAISA, AIATSIS and AARE.

Cost: $Free

Where: The Vere Gordon Childe Centre, University of Sydney 

Organised by: History Council of NSW and Powerful Stories Network