Gapu Ŋupan (Chasing the Rainbow) is an uplifting, large-scale performance that blends music, song, dance, immersive visuals and sound to tell a story that spans cultures and generations.

Following its critically acclaimed World Premiere season at Asia TOPA 2025, Gapu Ŋupan will return home to the NT this July to be presented at Garma Festival and Darwin Festival 2026.

Created over five years of cross-cultural collaboration by First Nations artists from Arnhem Land and Taiwan who share deep ancestral ties, the work brings forward Yolŋu narratives of ancient encounters, long before European arrival, when other nations travelled to and connected with Yolŋu people. It offers a fuller picture of Australia’s history and honours our place in a global story.

Designed for major festival stages, the production is a fully self-determined First Nations creation and features an ensemble of eight Yolŋu and Paiwan performers including singers, dancers and multi-instrumentalists.

This extraordinary production and performing team have completed multiple stages of deep development and creation in Australia and Taiwan and includes music producers, musicians, dancers, choreographers, sound and lighting designers, filmmakers and photographers and creative producers from Yirrkala in the NT’s Northeast Arnhem Land, all the way to Paiwan and Amis peoples in Taiwan.

Bringing it all together has been made possible through the relationships and work carried out by the four producers behind these stages of development being Hui Jia Creatives, Miku Performing Arts, Kath Papas Productions and Artback NT. The relationships that first sparked Gapu Ŋupan was born through Artback NT’s Indigenous Artist in Residence Program which provided artists from the NT to travel to Taiwan for six weeks to be immersed in other cultures, making exchanges and lasting connections through Indigenous artists and communities associated with the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Park in Pingtung.

These experiences were reciprocated for Taiwanese artists where they would journey to the Northern Territory and make connections through their artistic practice. It was in 2018 when the successful artist exchange applicants Rachael Wallis and 桑梅絹 Sang Mei-Chuan would first see the birth of what was first a working title “The Voyage of Bayini”, before years later becoming Gapu Ŋupan, a name given to the production by Yirrkala Cultural Consultant and one of the show’s leading performers Banula Marika.

This project is created and produced by:

Miku | Hui Jia Creatives | Kath Papas Productions | Artback NT

The NT tour is supported by:

Garma Festival | Darwin Festival | Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation | Ministry of Culture Republic of China (Taiwan) | Indigenous Languages and Arts | Creative Australia

The Asia TOPA season was supported by:

Asia TOPA | Arts Centre Melbourne | Creative Australia | Ministry of Culture Republic of China (Taiwan) | Rirratjiŋu | Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation | The Robert Salzer Foundation | The Mulka Project | Northern Territory Government

Development of Gapu Ŋupan was also supported by:

Major Festivals Initiative / Creative Australia | Indigenous Languages and Arts | Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Follow the artist

Co-artistic director, choreographer – Rachael Wallis

Rirratjingu cultural director, Songman – Banula Marika

Co-artistic director, composer – Suming Rupi

Paiwan Songwoman – Seredau Tariyaljan

Choreographer, performer – Piya Talaliman

Performers – Ljaucu Talimaraw, Ngalkanbuy Mununggurr, Ineke Wallis, Gandhurrminy Loretta Yunupingu, Temu Masin, Barraral TJ Mununggurr

Video artist – Samuel James

Original Lighting designer – Karen Norris

Darwin Festival Re-light – Travis Kecek

Contemporary costume designer – Peta Strachan

Sound designer, cultural consultant – Arian Ganambarr Pearson

Sound engineer – Cudjui Tjapalji

Production manager – Alejandro Rolandi

Stage manager – Jess Keepence

Co-producers Australia – Kath Papas Productions & Artback NT Inc.

Co-producer Taiwan & Paiwan cultural consultant – Dremedreman Curimudjuq

Translators – Nunung Puhay, Ljius Kulivu

Documentation– Sakinu Kazangiljan

Vocal recordings shared by Kathy Marika and Wendy Marika

Kangaroo drawing by Wolpa Waṉambi

Artist communities: ‘Etolan, Tjuvecekadan, Yirrkala / Nhulunbuy, Cavak, Kaway, dr Takamimura

Video featuring Yolŋu, Paiwan and Amis Country

★★★★  “… a gently uplifting collaboration, which is also an expression of solidarity through artistic expression.”

The Age

” … an uplifting and inspiring production, which says to me that we can all learn to be better, more respectful and more inclusive. Most of all, we can learn from one another, combining the best of what each has to offer to forge a better and more positive way forward. … What they have crafted breaks down barriers and opens the world of possibility.”

The Blurb

“Despite the significant logistical challenges of pulling together such a performance — including the pandemic and language barriers — Ms Wallis said contemporary cultural performances helped keep ancient cultures alive for future generations…”

Kate Ashton - ABC - read more here