The Candy Royalle and Hind Hut was formally opened on July 13 — on a bright winter’s afternoon — by award-winning muralist Ms Saffaa, in conjunction with the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville.
Saffaa rebuilt an abandoned hut in the grounds of the ARCC, in its expansive green space and painted two dedications: one to Palestinian queer poet Candy Royalle and the other to young Palestinian Gazan martyr, Hind Rajab.
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Hind was brutally murdered on January 29, 2024 by Israeli soldiers while crying out on the phone to ambulance workers coming to her rescue. She was the last surviving member of her family in her car — the Israeli army had killed six of Hind’s family members. The army also murdered two paramedics who attempted to evacuate her.
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Candy Royalle, a fiercely political queer poet, passed away from cancer in 2018 and is missed by her queer and Palestinian communities.
The official opening included an Aboriginal smoking ceremony, led by Aunty Rhonda Dixon Grovenor and Uncle Dean Kelly.
The hut and murals can be visited anytime at the ARCC.