Western Terrace: Utp Portals to the Ancestors

As the sun sets in Burramatta, we invite you to dance, craft and gather with us to honour ancestral memory and living culture.

Portals to the ancestors is a community offering of artist-led movement workshops and shrine-making that centre the body as a site of ancestral memory, continuity of culture and resistance against erasure. Dance and craft with us to connect across time and open portals together.

Dharug collective Jannawi Dance Clan will present a cultural dance workshop, Mohamed Albayed from Ataba Dabke will facilitate a Palestinian dabke workshop, and Shyamla will host an introduction to the Tamil drumming dance, Parai Attam. Artist emoeba h♡rtbridge invites you to bring a photo of a ‘spiritual ancestor’ (real or imagined) or a treasured memory to make a personal shrine.

We hope you can join us in Burramatta as we reach backwards and forwards in order to make sense of the now. Presented as a part of Utp’s 2026 programs under the provocation of ‘Ancestral Portals’

When: Wednesday 25 March 2026, 6pm - 8pm

Location: Level 3, Western Terrace

Registration: Spaces are limited with some seats and standing room. Registration is essential. As this is an outdoor venue, please dress accordingly.

Accessibility: Open to all levels of experience, abilities and cultural backgrounds. For access requirements please contact PHIVEtickets@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au 

Catering: by Kefah Maradweh from Jafra Enterprises.

The Western Terrace is a series of creative gatherings, performances and workshops taking place underneath the golden hour, as the sun sets, facing West, thinking West. Imagining the Western Terrace as an extension of their own homes, gardens and balconies, the series features artists, authors, filmmakers, musicians and community sharing domestic ritual collectively. The Western Terrace Series was developed and curated by Eleni Christou, PHIVE Programs Producer.