a bit thing is a work where art, family and everyday life are inseparable. It is where the home opens up to become the exhibition.
Led by matriarch and curator Dr Paola Balla, and co-created with her children Rosie Kalina and Katen Balla, a bit thing invites audiences into an intergenerational Blak family home where cultural stories, creativity and daily life exist side by side.
Visitors move through a house built within the North Melbourne Town Hall, exploring bedrooms, shared living areas and the Blakyard beyond. Throughout the installation, artworks embed a richly layered domestic setting shaped by memory, humour and care.
Rosie’s room is a hyper-sensory world of colour and youthful imagination. While Katen’s room becomes a photographic and sonic archive.
Family photos, books, textiles, protest materials and pop-cultural references sit alongside contemporary artworks, while a central kitchen and living room invite visitors to pause, make a cuppa and stay awhile.
Alongside the exhibition, a public program unfolds across the season, activating the house and Blakyard as places of gathering, exchange and shared practice.
Curated by Paola, Rosie and Katen, the program includes workshops, screenings, shared meals, yarning circles and Koorioke during NAIDOC Week.
These activations extend the exhibition’s focus on joy, cultural knowledge and intergenerational connection, situating the home as a living and social environment.
“We wanted to make a space that feels like visiting family. The home is where we learn, where we get respite and where we imagine together,” said Dr Paola Balla.
“We’ve grown up inside these stories. This work is about sharing them, but also about creating space for others to feel held inside them too,” said Rosie Kalina.
“This is a world built from our histories and everyday lives. It’s messy, layered and embedded with humour, just like home always is,” said Katen Balla.
a bit thing – Dr Paola Balla, Katen Balla & Rosie Kalina
World Premiere
27 June – 18 July 2026
Free exhibition
Mon – Fri, 10am – 4pm
Sat, 11am – 3pm
Public program
Opening Event with Curators Talk & Tour: 2pm, Sat 27 Jun
Workshop: Painting with Paola: 12pm, Sat 4 Jul
NAIDOC Week: Blakyard Feed, Yarns & Koorioke: 6pm, Fri 10 Jul
Audio Described Tactile Tour: 11am, Sat 11 Jul
Yarns & Damper with Aunty Margie Tang: 12:30pm, Sat 11 Jul
Venue
Arts House – North Melbourne Town Hall
521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne
Tickets
Free exhibition
Booking required for public program events
Booking
(03) 9322 3720
Arts House:
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