In 2023, a small Aboriginal art centre from the remote Western Desert appeared on the Australian Fashion Week runway for the first time. The community of Haasts Bluff sits more than 200 km west of Alice Springs – and yet its artists, their designs carrying Tjukurrpa and deep connection to Country, had made it to one of Australia’s most watched fashion stages.

In the Kimberley region of northwest WA, Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation has been set up with a clear goal: local people experiencing self-sufficiency on their own terms. But as the road to independence looks different for everyone, the organisation’s got some clever ways to get people engaged and build confidence.