The VA NetworkStories From The Space In Between
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Connecting Art, Story, Community and Purpose
The VA Marketplace is more than a place of trade, it is a sacred space where culture, creativity, and connection converge through exchange. It moves with the rhythm of reciprocity, where the act of purchasing becomes an act of preservation, empowerment, and responsibility.
Every item here is not just something to own, it is something to carry. A thread in the great weave of creation, holding the knowledge of land, people, and story.
This is an exchange in the truest sense. A bridge, not just between buyer and seller, but between worlds. Between the past and the future, between tradition and innovation, between those who create with their hands and those who wish to carry that creation forward.
What you receive is not just what you hold in your hands, but what you carry in your spirit. You are not just supporting Indigenous artists – you are honouring a way of being that has always known how to sustain life in balance.
You are not just bringing something home – you are becoming part of the story.
Enter into relation, honor the hands that create, & become part of a story that stretches across time.
Shop the marketplace
The VA Marketplace is a space to connect, to give back, and to carry forward the stories woven into each creation. Every item here is more than a product; it is a piece of knowledge, a thread in the great weave of culture and tradition, a continuation of something far older than commerce.
What we offer is not mass-produced, not stripped of meaning or context. Each piece – whether handcrafted textiles, intricate carvings, or limited edition prints – holds the hands of its maker, the whispers of its land, and the wisdom of its lineage.
Every purchase directly supports Indigenous artisans, storytellers, and creators, ensuring that their work is valued on their own terms, in ways that sustain their communities. And every exchange is more than a transaction – it is an act of reciprocity, a way of participating in the preservation and growth of Indigenous cultures, traditions, and economies.
Beadwork, jewelry, woven bands – more than decoration, these are symbols of identity, connection, and belonging. Each piece is created with intention, designed to be worn as a reminder of the stories we carry with us.
Tools of story, objects of wisdom, pieces infused with the spirit of those who made them and given with blessing to the Va Marketplace. These artefacts are not just relics of the past, extracted items sold at the expense of the people who hold them scared – they are living expressions of culture, holding the essence of tradition while finding their place in the present, gifted to you via our marketplace to share story, lore and connection.
Words that hold weight, stories that reshape understanding, teachings that guide us back into relation. The books found here are not just to be read, but to be lived – carrying voices that need to be heard, preserving knowledge that must never be lost.
Storytelling is evolving, but its essence remains unchanged. Our digital collections bring Indigenous narratives into the virtual space—whether through immersive experiences, digital prints, or online-exclusive works—ensuring that knowledge continues to flow in new ways.
When artists, knowledge keepers, and creators come together, something powerful emerges. Our limited edition collaborations are born from this meeting of minds, honoring Indigenous-led storytelling through unique and purpose-driven creations.
Symbols, language, and patterns that hold meaning—woven into shirts, hoodies, and wearable pieces that carry the fire forward. More than fashion, this is a way of keeping the story alive, walking with it, and sharing it wherever you go.
Every print, every painting, every carving is a window into a world of meaning. These are not just images; they are echoes of place, spirit, and story, created by Indigenous and allied artists who see through the eyes of connection.
Woven with tradition, dyed with knowledge, and stitched with meaning—our textiles carry the stories of the land and the hands that crafted them. Each fabric is more than material; it is memory, heritage, and the continuation of an unbroken lineage of artistry.
A contribution to a cycle of reciprocity that sustains stories, strengthens communities, and restores balance to the land.
Impact of shopping with conscience
This is not charity. This is law – the law of give-give, napagi-napagi. When something is taken, something must be returned. When a story is shared, the impact must be felt in real ways. This is how we break cycles of extraction and create a model of sustainability that is rooted in balance.
When you buy from the VA Marketplace, you are not just receiving an object -you are participating in a sacred exchange. You are ensuring that artists are supported, that culture is celebrated, and that the land is cared for. This is what right relationship looks like. This is what impact means. Project. People. Place. Three equal parts, one powerful cycle of reciprocity.
Projects
Funding The Future Of Storytelling.
33.3% goes directly into funding projects that align with our mission – initiatives that sustain cultural storytelling, creative empowerment, and knowledge-sharing. This could mean funding a new documentary by an Indigenous filmmaker, supporting an arts residency for young creators, or backing a community-led exhibition. These funds ensure that stories continue to be told, that the voices shaping our collective future are resourced, and that the creative economy thrives for generations to come.
Peoples
Supporting Those Who Carry the Knowledge
33.3% is returned to the people – the artists, makers, and knowledge keepers who bring these creations to life. Too often, Indigenous artisans and creators are underpaid or exploited by global markets. We do things differently. The people who craft, carve, paint, and weave these works receive their rightful share, ensuring they can continue their work sustainably. This money provides direct support to individuals, their families, and their communities, allowing them to live, create, and pass their knowledge forward.
Places
Giving Back to the Land That Gives Us Everything
33.3% dedicated to the land – the places that hold the stories, the places that sustain life, the places that need our care. Funds go toward conservation efforts, reforestation projects, clean water initiatives, and land restoration efforts led by Indigenous communities. By reinvesting in the environment, we ensure that the land, the original knowledge holder, continues to teach, nurture, and provide for the generations yet to come.
Our Pay What You can Mdoel
purpose above profit
In the spirit of inclusivity and recognizing the diverse rhythms of financial means, we decided to incorporate a Pay What You Can model. The way this came about was by talking with my mentor about money as a song. It’s a melody that acknowledges the different pitches of financial circumstances, ensuring that everyone can tune into the rhythm of collective participation. So with this approach it invites you to subtract 10%, 15%, or 20% from the listed price, acknowledging the various notes that compose the symphony of our community.
For those able to contribute more, your generosity orchestrates a chorus of support, helping to bridge the gap and harmonize the journey for those who may be facing financial constraints, and knowing that the money goes directly to helping the projects and initiatives that we are implementing across the world. This Pay What You Can model is not just a transaction; it’s a communal composition where each note contributes to the melody of shared accessibility and mutual support. Let’s sing the same song.
Pay What You Can
We wanted to offer a flexible pricing model that empowers individuals to contribute to a cause based on their financial capacity and desire to make a positive impact. In the checkout, you can use any of the following codes to change the price of your cart.
PAYWHATYOUCAN-10
PAYWHATYOUCAN-15
PAYWHATYOUCAN-20
Make a donation
This is a chance to go above and beyond by providing an extra contribution to support a project and people, making an even greater impact on the communities we work with.
pay the asking
The prices we place on items in the marketplace are reflective of the value that they have not only for the community, but for us, and for you. We believe these items are priced accurately in order to provide the maximum amount of support for the artist and community, whilst giving you value for money for your purchase.
carrying the story forward
When you hold something from the Marketplace, you’re holding more than an object – you’re holding a relationship. Every creation carries the spirit of its maker, the whispers of the land it came from, and the stories of the ancestors who passed down the knowledge to create it.
In many Indigenous traditions, objects are not separate from their makers or their origins – they are extensions of them. A woven basket might hold more than fruit; it holds the memory of the plant it came from, the hands that shaped it, and the patterns that guide its design. When you purchase such a piece, you become part of its story, carrying it forward and weaving it into your own life.
The Marketplace embodies the principle of reciprocity. By purchasing or donating, you’re not just supporting a network – you’re helping preserve traditions, amplify voices, and sustain communities for generations to come.
When you buy from the Marketplace, you’re not just acquiring a product; you’re investing in a story, a culture, and a future. This is how we build bridges – between the artist and the audience, between tradition and modernity, and between intention and impact.
This is your chance to be a part of the story
Every purchase is an investment in cultural survival, a commitment to keeping traditions alive, and a return to the sacred balance of giving and receiving.
Beyond Commerce, Into Connection. Building Embassy through a sharing economy.
For Indigenous artisans and makers, storytelling is not limited to words – it is stitched into fabric, carved into wood, etched into stone, and woven into patterns that hold the echoes of ancestors. The Marketplace ensures that these stories do not just survive, but thrive. It is a space where artists are not just selling; they are being recognized, valued, and supported in a way that sustains them, their families, and their communities.
Every purchase made here is a direct investment in cultural survival. It ensures that knowledge keepers can continue to pass down their traditions. It means a young weaver has the resources to learn from her grandmother, a carver can afford to gather materials from his ancestral land, and a community can maintain its craft without being forced to choose between survival and heritage.
This is not just about preserving culture—it is about empowering it to grow. The Marketplace does not treat Indigenous art as a relic; it sees it as a living, breathing expression of identity, innovation, and resilience. It is about ensuring that Indigenous creators do not just have a place in the market, but that they are valued on their own terms, without dilution, without distortion.
100% of all proceeds go back to the people, communities, and causes that need them most. This is not just ethical commerce; it is a practice of accountability, of ensuring that what is given is returned in balance.
Real impact is not measured in profits – it is measured in the hands that keep working, the stories that keep being told, and the communities that continue to thrive.
vessel of knowledge, woven with memory, culture, and resilience – offered not for possession, but for those who understand the responsibility of carrying story forward.
Carrying Story. Carry The future.
In the VA Marketplace, every piece is more than an object – it is a vessel of story, a thread in the great weave of creation. Each handcrafted textile, carved artifact, and woven design carries the wisdom of its maker, the memory of its origin, and the resilience of its people. Cultural tools and objects are crafted with intention, honoring tradition while remaining rooted in the present. Prints and photography capture moments through Indigenous and allied eyes, framing perspectives of land, spirit, and identity. Limited edition collaborations, created in partnership with the NGARRA Project and VA Network storytellers, hold the power of shared vision, while exclusive merchandise and collector’s items remind us of our role as caretakers of the fire. Every creation that enters this space is chosen with care, carried in right relation, and shared with the consent and blessing of the communities who made them – offered not for extraction, but for those who understand the responsibility of holding such works.
transforming storytelling into action, cycling resources back into communities, sustaining knowledge, and ensuring that every voice, every tradition, and every ember from this fire fuels real-world change for generations to come.
The Fire that gives back
Stories are not just told; they move, they ripple, they shape the world long after the last word is spoken. The Marketplace is more than a platform – it is a living, breathing system of reciprocity, ensuring that every story shared ignites real-world change. Every ember that rises from this fire carries something tangible back to the land, back to the people, back to the communities that hold the knowledge we are all learning from.
For us we measure our impact in hands that keep working, the voices that keep speaking, the traditions that keep thriving because they are supported, valued, and sustained. Every film, every collection, every project on this network does more than inform – it builds, it funds, it nurtures, and it returns.
The VA Network is built on reciprocity – give-give, napagi-napagi. Every story shared fuels something greater, cycling resources back into Indigenous communities to fund grassroots initiatives, cultural preservation, and sustainable futures. We invest in the storytellers and the spaces that hold them, supporting conservation projects, language revitalization, scholarships, and infrastructure that ensures knowledge is not only preserved but continues to thrive. This is more than storytelling – it is action, it is relationship, it is a fire that burns for the future, ensuring that what is given returns, stronger, deeper, and lasting for generations to come.
This is what impact looks like; not in words, but in action. Not in numbers, but in the lives that are changed. This is what happens when we remember our place, when we step into relation, when we choose to give back. This is how we build a future worth inheriting.
Step into an ancient system of reciprocity, where giving and receiving are one and the same, where wealth is not measured in what is kept but in what is shared.
Your purchase is a bridge. It means a grandmother can teach her grandchild the art that once sustained their ancestors, without fear that survival will steal them away from their craft. It means a carver can gather the right wood from Country, honoring the land instead of being forced to take what is easiest, what is cheapest. It means a weaver’s hands can keep moving, shaping, storytelling – because they are valued, because their work is seen, because the world has chosen to listen.
This is how culture lives – not in museums or books, but in hands that keep creating, in voices that keep speaking, in traditions that adapt, shift, and grow while still holding their roots strong in the soil of time.
When you shop in the Marketplace, you are not just acquiring an item – you are investing in a future where Indigenous knowledge is not just preserved, but thriving. You are ensuring that the makers, the storytellers, and the wisdom keepers have the means to continue their work, to pass it on, to shape the next generation.
From the artists whose hands shape these works, from the communities whose traditions are strengthened, and from all of us who believe in the fire of storytelling – thank you. Because of you, this fire burns brighter, reaching further, illuminating paths that would otherwise remain unseen.
special thanks
None of this is possible alone. The VA Marketplace exists because of those who believe in the power of story, the importance of culture, and the necessity of reciprocity. To our major sponsors and partners – your support is more than financial; it is a commitment to the communities, artists, and knowledge keepers whose work and wisdom shape this space.
Because of you, we are not just selling art – we are sustaining livelihoods. We are not just offering products – we are ensuring traditions endure. Every thread woven, every image captured, every carving made carries the weight of generations, and your support ensures that these traditions are not only preserved but empowered to grow.
As part of the One Fire Festival, we invite you to gather around a virtual campfire like no other. Our Campfire Sounds are more than just crackling embers and gentle winds; they are the harmonious rhythms of Indigenous artists’ worlds. These captivating audio landscapes are created by the artists themselves, who share their sacred fires burning on their ancestral lands. As you immerse yourself in these evocative sounds, you’ll be enveloped in the warmth of their stories and culture, forging a deep connection to the heart of Indigenous artistry. Join us for this unique fireside experience, where the flames dance to the beat of Indigenous wisdom, and the stories of their lands come alive
The VA Network acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country
throughout the world, & their connections to land, sea, & sky.
We pay our respects to Elders past & present, & extend that respect to all First Nations Peoples on whose land we live, connect, travel, create, & love.
We celebrate the diversity of all First Nations Peoples
& their stories reflected in their unique artistic practices.
Please join us in respecting the ongoing legacy of the first artists of this country, & all countries.
⏲ 1hr 15min
Environmentalism / Culture Change
Finding our way back to our role as custodians of creation.
At its core, The VA Network is about connections and celebrating the stories in the spaces in-between.
The VA Network is built on foundations of relation to one another, the more-than-human world, and
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