The Black Lullaby Experience Stage 3: The Show
Stage 3: This is the first stage of The Black Lullaby Experience to be open to the public! Date: Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June Ages: 0 to 24 Months Image credit: Darren Gill Artists: Dianne Morris, NIASHA and Kwamena Brace Rest, listen, and settle into a collective tapestry of sound. This is a space for families from all backgrounds to join us in a special public sharing of African and Caribbean culture. Within this gentle environment, you might hear the heritage of familiar songs alongside new melodies that have grown from the ideas and sounds shared by families during the work's development. Whether you are exploring soft percussion, humming along, or simply rocking your little one to the music, this is a space to share in the quiet magic of the lullaby. It is an invitation to slow down and experience a unique, evolving language of African and Caribbean song and belonging. Please book tickets here: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/black-lullaby-experience-stage-3 
Let your baby’s heartbeat guide the rhythm.
The Black Lullaby Experience is a multi-sensory, participatory arts project for babies aged 0 -2 and their caregivers, by midwife and storyteller, Dianne Morris. With over 30 years of midwifery and creative arts experience across Australia and the UK, Dianne supports families and babies in bonding through music and art-making, nurturing cultural connections for newborns in their earliest weeks.
Where your baby’s first sounds meet your ancestral songs and nursery rhymes. This experience will offer support, connection with your baby, and cultural affirmation.
Through an immersive soundscape of Caribbean and African diasporic lullabies, rhythms and sounds, The BLE invites families into a space of cultural expression, experimentation and intergenerational connection.
Babies are invited to actively contribute to the creation of the lullabies and soundscapes, through their vocalisations—coos, gurgles, and early attempts at language—expressing their innate connection to sound and rhythm.
EVENT DETAILS
MAKE
A Soundscape of African & Caribbean Ancestral Stories, Music, Singing, and Rhythm
The Black Lullaby Experience is a three‑phase creative series. After completing Stage One in November 2025, we’re now ready to open Stage Two in May 2026. You are invited to MAKE: an immersive, hands‑on session where our community comes together to co‑create the container that will hold the next chapter of this work.
MAKE Workshop Times
Thursday 14 May: 10 am - 11:30 am - 0 -1 year olds (90 minutes)
Thursday 14 May: 1 pm - 2:30 pm - 1-2 year olds (90 minutes)
Click the link below to book your Place
https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/black-lullaby-experience-stage-2…
Create Your Own Lullabies
Join us in crafting unique lullabies that can be personalised for your baby or created collectively with other families. Your stories, your rhythm, will be woven into a rich tapestry of Caribbean and African sounds.
EVENT DETAILS
DREAM
No musical experience needed. Just bring your voice, your rhythm, your love.
The Black Lullaby Experience is a three‑phase creative series launched in November 2025. In Phase One, we invited you to DREAM an immersive, participatory session that laid the foundation for the project and shaped its initial container.
Bubs and caregivers were invited to create:
Call-and-response lullabies led by Music Director and Lead Vocalist NIASHA
Percussion-based rhythms inspired by Caribbean and African traditions with musician Kwamena Brace,
Rhythmic and visual storytelling, animated by artist Louis Majiwa.
Babies coo, caregivers chant, and together we build a lullaby that grows with each breath.
LOCATION: ArtPlay, Birrarung Marr, Russell St Ext, Melbourne VIC 3000
DATE: 21 - 22 NOVEMBER 2025
TIME: We will run two sessions on both dates:
10AM - 12PM (0 - 12months)
1PM - 3PM (12 -24months)
ARTIST TEAM: Dianne Morris, NIASHA, Kwamena Brace and Louis Majiwa.
MENTORS: Taku Mbudzi (event and storytelling) and Toby Benador (visual art and set design)
Please note that vocal recordings will occur during these sessions.
Please also note that this workshop is a work in progress, and your feedback is appreciated.
The project is seeded by ArtPlay’s New Ideas Lab, where children and families collaborate with artists to develop brand-new creative experiences.
Image credit: Darren Gill
