Sometimes it can feel a little hard to seek out Indigenous authors, artists, movies, poets, and designers. But it's one of the best ways to be an ally to First Nations people - by supporting their art, boosting their messages and opinions, and using our platforms to re-platform others. We've pulled together this list (which totally isn't complete, by any means!) of amazing Indigenous artists in many different mediums for you to absorb and check out. Maybe you can find more on your own?
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Indigenous Art & Media
By Juniper Buley
Rosella Namok
With striking colours and bold geometric lines, Rosella Namok's art recreates the many changing faces of the weather around her home near the Lockhart River. She's a second-generation silkscreen printing and oil painting artist, following along the traditions of her mother, Irene Namok. With such gorgeous designs, it's no wonder she's a staple of the Australian First Nations art scene. You can see some of Rosella's artworks here.
Gammin Threads
Fun, deadly designs and beautiful screenprinting and typography? Sign us up! Tahnee, who runs Gammin Threads as a side hustle, says that it's about "a love of typography, language and blak pride. It consists of deadly chillwear and accessories for people who believe in living colourfully, paying respect and empowering women".
You can find and support their shop here.
'Mabo'
Starring Jimi Bani and Deborah Mailman – the movie Mabo follows the story of Eddie “Koiki” Mabo, a Torres Strait Islander man, and his decade-long battle with the High Court of Australia to acknowledge the native title and overturn terra nullius. The film navigates and covers Eddie’s legal journey and brings to life a touching love story between Eddie and his wife, Bonita. You can watch Mabo on Youtube.
Alexis Wright's 'The Swan Book'
The Swan Book is author Alexis Wright's imagining of a climate change-altered post-Australia, written from the perspective of her Indigenous heritage and her connection to Country - she wonders what life might feel like when that connection to the land is severed by changes to the natural environment, and what a post-apocalypse adventure would look like if the heroine was a young Blak girl. It's weird, strange, sad, powerful and darkly funny all at the same time, and comes wholeheartedly recommended.
Thinking about Alexis Wright's powerful prose makes me think of this sonnet by Natalie Harkin, who name-drops some of the famous Indigenous authors, writers, and change-makers who have empowered and inspired her:
colonising giants pressure off-shore mines
no match for her hand, raised blue with the tide
this two-world storm surges high, seizing time
her heart, the eye where wild and calm reside
she's romaine's call to rise, surprise with her will
she's melissa's mighty heart and lisa's smile
she's alexis and ellen, potent words distilled
she's kerry's strength and ali's infinite surprise
the country mourns her a flood to gift the deep
currents swell a mother-sister-love sublime
the struggle haunts her every wake and sleep
conviction, her bitter-sweet-dream lullaby
warrior-poet - keeper of fire burning bright
we honour you beyond the darkest night
'Free spirit sonnet'
by Natalie Harkin
Ellen van Neerven
One of the other names dropped in that sonnet, Ellen van Neerven, is a poet and activist. They're a queer, nonbinary Mununjali person and their 2020 book of poetry, Throat, won Book of the Year at the 2021 NSW Premier's Literary Awards.
Melissa Lucaschenko's 'Too Much Lip'
Funny, heartbreaking, and inspirational all in one, Too Much Lip is a great story about coming of age in a world where having an opinion, talking about racial injustice, and being yourself is seen as being too mouthy and bossy. It's a love story to young girls - especially Blak girls - being allowed to be themselves, big loud lip and all.
Dylan Mooney
Dylan Mooney's gorgeous work stretches across the mediums of printmaking, digital art, sketches and painting. He's interested in ensuring that art is accessible, and that it's used to ensure that the people whose voices have been traditionally erased or silenced are allowed to shout out loud. His work is really important especially for representations of queerness and LGBTQIA+ issues in Indigenous communities.
'It's about telling our story of resilience, thriving, survival, how far we've come as a people, what we've achieved ... and where we'll be in the future.'
'Samson & Delilah'
An amazing film directed by Warwick Thornton, Samson and Delilah follows two estranged teens (Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson) who decide to steal the only car in their remote community in the hopes of fleeing to Alice Springs in search of a better life. The movie is a heartbreaking love story that showcases some of the most difficult realities of our country’s complicated and messy history. It's available to watch on Stan.
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