Ruby’s Foundation:

Ruby Hunter, a proud Ngarrindjeri woman from South Australia, was a pioneering Aboriginal singer-songwriter and the first Aboriginal woman in the country to sign a major recording deal in the early 1990’s. She went on to release three albums.

Ruby passed last year, aged 55, in the arms of her partner, soul mate and musical collaborator, Archie Roach. 

Ruby was a powerful voice for the Stolen Generations, domestic violence and Aboriginal women and is often cited by other musicians as a source of inspiration. To honor Ruby’s commitment to her culture and her people and to continue her legacy Archie has established Ruby’s Foundation in her memory.  The foundation is dedicated to creating opportunities for Aboriginal people through the promotion, celebration, and support of Aboriginal arts and culture.

The Project:

The Foundation is seeking donations to support an album of children’s songs “Butcher Paper, Texta, Blackboard and Chalk”,  by Ruby Hunter.

In 1997 Archie and Ruby toured to twelve remote Aboriginal communities throughout Cape York in far north Queensland running songwriting workshops at schools. The workshops explored the themes of ‘Land and Health’ and they worked closely with the children creating songs about the world around them.

Years later this gave Ruby the idea to write more songs about children living in the suburbs and the cities.  Ruby loved children and thrived when working with them. She was passionate about encouraging young Aboriginal children to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams no matter what.

The album comes in a songbook, illustrated by Ruby, with an accompanying documentary of Ruby and Archie’s six-week tour of Cape York working with the children.

“The children’s songs tell of both remote and city lifestyles. They are about what the children see and experience in their everyday lives; in the forests, gardens, about shells on the shore and having toast and tea,” Ruby said.

I get inspiration from my grandchildren and nephews and nieces, when we go out and about we pick up ideas. It is the children’s imagination that has inspired these songs”.

“Butcher Paper, Texta, Blackboard and Chalk” will be released nationally in March 2012. It is being published by One Day Hill, who put out the children’s lyric book of Archie Roach’s iconic song, Took The Children Away, which was illustrated by Ruby.

Jen Anderson, who produced Ruby’s debut album, “Thoughts Within”, has produced this 17-track album. Craig Pilkington has mixed and mastered the CD and a whole host of musicians have lent their magic to this collection of songs, Archie Roach, his son, Amos Roach, Dave Arden, Jen Anderson, Craig Pilkington, Andy Reid, Niamh Howard and her father, Shane Howard and Archie Cuthbertson.  Ruby and Archie’s grandchildren also sing on many of the songs.

Lew Griffith who travelled on the road with Archie and Ruby and their young family through Cape York back in 1997 is producing the documentary.

So far the project has been generously supported by the Ian Thorpe Fountain for Youth, the Indigenous Literacy Project, Ruby’s Foundation, One Day Hill and by a number of people who have generously donated their time and skills to ensure this project is realized.

Can you help Ruby’s Foundation by making a tax deductible donation?

This illustrated songbook, album and DVD “Butcher Paper, Texta, Blackboard and Chalk” is central to Ruby’s vision of keeping culture and identity strong through song and story. A percentage of proceeds from its sale will be going to Ruby’s Foundation to seed other projects.

We urgently need to raise $40,000 to cover the cost of producing the album and accompanying documentary.

 

We would like to invite you to support Ruby’s Foundation and the Butcher Paper, Texta, Blackboard and Chalk project by making a tax deductible donation to the Australia Cultural Fund <hyperlink is: http://www.abaf.org.au/donors/about-giving/australia-cultural-fund.html>, operated by the Australia Business Arts Foundation <hyperlink is http://www.abaf.org.au/>.   

 

This Fund was established to encourage people to donate to the arts and enable not-for-profit groups like Ruby’s Foundation to benefit from this generosity. 

We have attached a donation form which you can complete and return to AbaF.  If you are able to send a donation by the end of November this year it will greatly assist with planning for our 2012 release. 

You can donate on line or download the donation form from www.abaf.org.au <hyper link ishttp://www.abaf.org.au/donors/artist-projects/rubys-foundation.html> which includes instructions for posting your donation to AbaF.

Please feel free to call 0414 556 728 for more information on the project.

  

 

For further information visit http://www.rubysfoundation.com.au/

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