Remembering Ancestral Story & Song: Reconnecting to Roots
We are thrilled to have workshop facilitator, Kathryn Farrell back at Romulus Folio Gallery this month for Returning to Roots: Remembering Ancestral Story & Song with Special Guest Dr Rune Hjarnø.
Date
Saturday, September 20 · 3 – 6 pm
Location
Romulus Folio Gallery
15–85 Gladstone Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205
On these lands we now know as Australia, many ancestors journeyed from faraway places, bringing with them hopes, traditions, and stories. Yet often, in starting anew, they experienced disconnection from Country, Culture, and Kin that once grounded them.
How do we begin to reconcile that separation?
One way may be remembering that their stories live on in us. Their wisdom runs through our bones. We only need to listen for that quiet call within, and find the courage to respond.
As Tata Juan Nelson Rojas (Traditional Knowledge-holder of the Nahuat Pipil First Nation of El Salvador) reminds us: “We dream the past to remember the future.”
Remembering Ancestral Story & Song offers a space to honor this inner wisdom through conversations, stories, and song; embracing all ancestral lineages, known and unknown. Through joining us in this event, perhaps a quiet curiosity for your culture’s own narratives will blossom.
What to Expect
Celtic Resonance & Irish Gaelic Songs: Dive into the myth of the Selkie and the enduring pulse of Celtic tradition.
Nordic Animism with Dr Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen: A historian of religion with a Ph.D. from Uppsala (also trained at Copenhagen), Rune brings global experience, animist scholarship, and a personal Nordic journey rooted in ancestral song. His research spans Afro-diasporic animist practices to recovering land-connectedness and kinship in European traditions. He leads the Nordic Animism platform to share these insights through public media and cultural initiatives.
Creative Reflection & Collective Exploration: Spend time writing, reflecting, and optionally sharing your musings in an intimate, supportive setting.
Let this afternoon be a gentle rekindling of ancestral threads, nourishing, expansive, and quietly transformative.
What to bring:
Journal or notebook and pen
Mug and water bottle
Something to sit on the floor comfortably, whatever supports you to feel cosy and grounded
About the space:
While the spotlight is on Northern European story and song, Reconnecting to Roots warmly welcomes all traditions, lineages, and the unspoken echoes within.
An Invitation
Whether your ancestral threads are clearly known or still emerging, this is a space for you. Come as you are, to listen, reflect, and connect. Join us for Remembering Ancestral Story & Song in this beautiful gathering of spirit, story, and belonging.