Collingwood players will wear freshly painted boots for the 2026 AFLW Indigenous Rounds, celebrated across Rounds 3 and 4.
The boots were designed and painted by proud Gunditjmara and Tiwi artist Kiewa Austin-Rioli of Sweet Water Art.
"I've always loved watching when it's Indigenous Round at the footy. It's obviously my favourite round," Austin-Rioli said.
"I love that our culture gets to be shared. Everything that I do in my life revolves around culture and to be able to share it on the big screens through my artwork is amazing."
Austin-Rioli explained that Indigenous artwork styles vary across different Nations and traditional lands with distinctions that must be respected across the artistic landscape.
"Each tribe can only do specific designs. Some can't do dots or they don't do cross-hatching." Austin-Rioli explained.
These cultural traditions shape her practice, with her artwork drawing directly from her own ancestral roots across Victoria and the Northern Territory.
Gunditjmara Country is located in south-west Victoria, whereas Tiwi traditional land is located on the Tiwi Islands, about 80 kilometres north of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
"I'm really lucky that I have two different tribes from two completely different ends of the country, so I tap into both of those tribal groups and the art styles that we're allowed to use and merge them together."
After doing initial sketches on her iPad, she then relies on intuition once the leather paint hits the footwear. From there she goes with the flow of the paint brush.
“I'm hand-painting boots for the first time so it’s really special. They aren’t just going to be hung up on a wall or displayed on a desk, these are actually going on someone's feetand they're going to be running around in them,” Austin-Rioli said.
"When I'm given full free rein with my creativity, my mind just goes into this space where it comes to me."
“Every single brush stroke is one-of-a-kind.
BARRAWARN PROGRAM | For stories that should be heard.
"Collingwood’s 2025 Club Best and Fairest winner Brit Bonnici caught a sneak peek of the bespoke boots before the squad faces Hawthorn this Sunday.
"It's a super special round," Bonnici shared during the preview.
"I think every year, it's the round in our calendar that we all get really excited about celebrating. It’s a chance to educate ourselves and our teammates as well.”
Each boot designed by Sweet Water Art invites personal reflection from the player it belongs to.
With symbols of people gathering represented by semi-circles and journey as represented by lines, the artwork evokes interpretation.
"For me, the background designs represent the way the Earth naturally parts, like cracks in the dirt," Austin-Rioli said.
"I live in the city in Melbourne, so sometimes I feel a bit disconnected from Country. But when I paint these shapes, it brings me back and makes me feel connected again.
"When a design goes to somebody personally, they can decide what it means to them. Everyone is on their own journey - whether that's their journey in footy, their life journey or navigating themselves through a hard time.
“It can take on a different meaning for everybody."
As the Pies prepare to take the field against the Hawks, each hand-painted pair of boots won’t just carry its artist’s story, it carries that of the players wearing them too.
BARRAWARN PROGRAM | For stories that should be heard.
The Barrawarn Program oversees partnerships and activities in support of First Nations people. Through Barrawarn, we celebrate the history and legacy of our First Nations players, staff, members and fans. In telling their stories, we help raise awareness of the culture and history of First Nations people, and their communities. In doing so, we aim to promote reconciliation for all Australians, leading to cultural safety and unity.
