The Home program at Tamworth Regional Gallery teaches students First Nations art

That's what Gomeroi Yinarr textile artist Sophie Honess wants to teach children at the half-day student art, language and culture workshops for schools across the region, taking place from July 31 to August 4.

The sessions featuring art making with Sophie Honess and Tania Hartigan are followed by Language and Culture sessions with Len Waters and Mark Atkins, and are held at Tamworth Regional Gallery.

It's an opportunity for regional schools to engage with a First Nations artist, Ms Honess said.

While First Nations people never stopped creating, the materials did change, she said.

"When we were removed from country and put into stations, we started using things like cotton and wool and tin," she said.

That's why Ms Honess taught the children needlepoint, tracing objects from country such as gum leaves and gum nuts, embroidering them into the cloth.

There can be an expectation on First Nations artists about what to teach, Ms Honess said, and while Gomeroi people are known for weaving and carving, modern artists can't be boxed in.

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It's important to employ First Nations people when teaching and practising that style of art, she said.

"When I was in primary school, I wasn't taught by First Nations artists. Teachers were expected to learn this themselves and teach that, which has its own problems," she said.

"I think it's really important that kids now can learn from an artist face to face, and learn different skills."

The series of workshops is part of the 'Walaaybaa' or Home program connecting professional Aboriginal artists, students and teachers with local Aboriginal community, regional galleries and the Art Gallery of NSW to explore cultural practice, language and art making.

It also includes a virtual excursion to the Art Gallery of NSW in August, and a teaching and learning program for primary students culminating in a student exhibition at Tamworth Regional Gallery from October 14 to November 26.

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