And, while the 34-year-old from Figtree has her own stories to share, it’s the journeys of her ancestors that have been brought to life in an award-winning piece of art. 

“All the pathways that our ancestors created to make one nation,” Ms Balzan said of her artwork’s story.

The painting, which takes the name of this year’s NAIDOC Week theme Songlines, has been named the winner of the National NAIDOC Poster Competition. 

The poster has been such a hit it has been printed 350,000 times and even turned into large-scale stickers for use on lift doors. 

“I feel very honoured and humbled by it [the win]. It’s a lovely feeling to know that it’s so appreciated and I get to share that with everybody, especially our community,” she said. 

“This one [artwork] was very special and I felt very connected when I painted it because it’s such an important part of our culture.”

Ms Balzan, a nationally-renowned artist and mother-of-three, works as the Aboriginal Education Officer at Warrawong High School. 

She also designed the St George-Illawarra Dragons’ 2016 indigenous guernsey. 

As part of this year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations, Ms Balzan visited Shellharbour nursing home Uniting Elanora on Wednesday to unveil a new artwork. 

The piece, titled Together Sea Country, is separate to her winning poster but complements a mural she painted for Uniting Elanora last year. “We’re trying to keep a tradition that every year we have a NAIDOC event at Elanora,” she said. 

Uniting Elanora service manager Walter de Ruyter said NAIDOC Week was a chance to “celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and to reflect on the organisation’s commitment to the Nation’s First People”.  

“We’re a vibrant home for older people, and we’re excited to come together to celebrate Aboriginal culture,” Mr de Ruyter said.

Member for Whitlam-elect Stephen Jones, who was present for the unveiling, described the artwork as “incredible” and “one of many highlights of NAIDOC Week”.  

Aboriginal Elders were also on-hand to witness the presentation. 

Ms Balzan heads to Cronulla for a NAIDOC Week event on Thursday. As part of her poster win, she will be a guest at the NAIDOC Ball in Darwin on Friday.