CONCENTRIC CIRCLES ART - Australia

Family
Meeting Place

Remember a short while back we learned how painter Wassily Kandinsky explored colors by painting concentric circles (circles that share the same center point)?  Well, I found that the concentric circle is a fundamental symbol in Aboriginal art.  It symbolizes their sacred sites, such as waterholes or campfires, where the people come together for rituals, or simply to spend time with one another.  Waterholes are critical to Aboriginal survival in the desert, and for that reason are found in their works of art, or personal expression.

The Aboriginal Yarning Circle is depicted as a concentric circle that represents the meeting space for respectful dialogue and the passing down of cultural knowledge.  The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership teaches the method of learning through the Yarning Circle.....

• Sit in a circle.  Participants should understand that they are all considered equal within the circle and that there is no hierarchy. 
• Introduce each person:  The host invites each person to introduce himself or herself and share something about themselves. 
• Focal questions:  Yarning circles can be held for lots of reasons.  The host introduces the focus question to the group.

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  Yarning Circle

  Share personal ideas and thoughts.  Each participant is encouraged to take turns to talk and share and learn.  Time can be allocated for this, or to draw their thoughts after each person speaks.  The host may provide paper in the middle of the circle to record those thoughts, or hold the yarning circle outdoors so  participants can draw their thoughts in the dirt. 
• Reflect.  Resolve issues identified by the yarning circle, or agree to follow up with another yarning circle in the future.              

Aboriginal Art
Has a Visible Vocabulary