Munimba-ja Artists
Munimba-ja Artists
Munimba-ja Artists are a collective of multidisciplinary First Nations artists who work closely with Munimba-ja to develop and deepen their arts practice. Through supported opportunities to take creative risks, experiment with new ideas, and present their work publicly, these artists are nurtured to grow in both cultural and professional capacities.
Munimba-ja provides artists with curatorial support, exhibition opportunities, art sales, business and arts management training, mentorship, and cultural guidance. Our focus is on fostering bold, culturally grounded practices that speak truth and expand the possibilities of contemporary Indigenous art.
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// Visual Artist
Brenda Mau is a proud Mandubarra woman and a direct descendant of the matriarchal line of her people in the Mamu language area of North Queensland. She also identifies as a Torres Strait Islander woman from Waiben (Kala Lagaw Ya) and has connections to the Kalkadoon (Kalkatungu), Wuthathi/Mutjati (Paman), and Ngadjon-jii/Ngadyandyi (Ngadyan/Dyirbal) peoples.
Brenda is passionate about being an artist, believing that art connects people through storytelling, truth, laughter, and growth. She uses emotional expression to create beautiful artworks, working primarily in digital illustration but also exploring a range of mediums to bring her concepts to life.
Integrity, respect, and collaboration are central to her practice—values instilled in her upbringing and woven into her creative work. Through her art, Brenda seeks to break down barriers, question the status quo, and strengthen the relationship between First Nations people and the wider community.
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// Visual Artist
Bianca Bond is a Kabi Kabi Woman, descending from the Da’la peoples, the traditional custodians of the sunshine coast area and its surrounding unceded outer regions. Bianca comes from a long lineage of strong weavers, dancers and Ancestors that have guided her practices and work within cultural continuity spaces, as well as necessary grassroot work of sharing and passing knowledge, and epistemological systems.Bianca is a Ba'rung, Wong'ai, Waa Waa woman with strong links to Bunya Country and the Bunya Gatherings through her bloodline of thousands of generations
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// Visual Artist
Rachel Bywaters is a multidisciplinary artist and proud Gamilaroi woman of mixed-European heritage, currently living and working on Kabi Kabi Country. Her practice encompasses printmaking, jewellery, sculpture, and installation, and is grounded in a deep commitment to storytelling, cultural expression, and First Nations truth-telling.
She is currently in the final year of a Bachelor of Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art at Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art and Design. Informed by her ancestral lineage and lived experience, Bywaters’ work explores themes of resistance and resilience. Her recent practice incorporates native Gamilaroi grasses—materials imbued with cultural and symbolic significance—to subvert colonial narratives and elevate First Nations perspectives.
Bywaters’ work has been exhibited in group shows including Beneath This Skin at the Queensland State Archives, Undergrowth at the Queensland University Art Galleries, Bonyi: Living Culture at Munimba-ja, and No Souvenirs at the upcoming Horizons Festival. Upcoming exhibitions also include The Shape of Time at Artisan, Glass-Box, Griffith University’s printmaking showcase, and Fresh Eyes at Redcliffe Art Gallery. In 2024, she was invited to judge the Next Generation Art Prize at the Matthew Flinders Art Gallery on Bribie Island, where she currently resides.
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// Visual Artist
Lexie Abel can trace her great nanny back to Wiradjuri country where she was working as a domestic on Roto station, Hillston.Lexie was born out the Back of Bourke and is a mother of 4 raising a revolution on Jinibara land. Lexie navigates being a white appearing woman through her art and how it influences her everyday. Bringing her Aboriginal and colonial heritage together within her contemporary arts practice, she in forever exploring stories, kin and connection through a colonised vs coloniser lens. Her work is a representation of her and her respect of the land in which she lives and creates on.
Working across a multidisciplinary practice focusing on nostalgia, time and place, Lexie is currently working with found objects, textiles, video, graphic design, text, words, murals and growing food in her spare time.
Recent shows include Friendship is a shelter 2024 at Cabulture Hub Gallery, Fringe Munimba-ja 2023, Fresh Eyes 2023 at Pine Rivers Art Gallery, and multiple mural projects from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.
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// Visual Artist
Malinda Flynn is a Dungibara and South Sea Islander woman raised across South-East Queensland, with a creative practice grounded in storytelling, cultural materials, and intergenerational learning. She works under the name Gi’ti Gar Art, meaning daylight spirit, a reflection of her commitment to cultural continuation and connection to Country.
Malinda began her arts journey in 1997 at Nungalinya College in Darwin, studying textile arts and learning traditional fibre techniques, natural dyeing, and cultural processes alongside Aunties and Elders. She later completed studies in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Visual Arts at Cairns TAFE, further expanding her skills in textile art and cultural making.
Her practice weaves together fabric art, fibre work, natural materials, and cultural stories. Recently, Malinda has been producing lino-printed textiles, drawing on her knowledge of traditional dyeing and printing processes and her commitment to the protection and honouring of Country. Her work explores culture, identity, resilience, and sovereignty, and she is passionate about creative healing, delivering arts-based social and emotional wellbeing workshops in community.
As a mid-career artist, Malinda is developing her own textile label while mentoring the next generation. Her practice is grounded in cultural continuity and empowerment, demonstrating that creative practice can support cultural strength, community connection, and economic independence. Malinda is a Munimba-ja Artist and Her involvement with this group of blak creatives and other aligned arts collectives continues to reinforce her commitment to community-driven cultural revival and creative excellence.
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// Visual Artist
Dimitie Smith is a proud Dharawal and Wiradjuri woman living on Kabi Kabi Country with her four children. Born and raised in the Illawarra among the Dharawal people, Dimitie was immersed in her culture from an early age. Her family instilled a deep pride in their traditions, teaching her the ways of her mob and nurturing her identity as a proud Koori. Surrounded by the stories, songs, and art of her community, these formative experiences continue to influence her life and artistry.
As an emerging urban and visual artist, Dimitie specializes in cultural designs and statement pieces that honor her elders—both past and present. Her work reflects her people's rich history, stories, and the enduring truth of their culture. For over 20 years, she has dedicated herself to developing her skills, continuously evolving her artistic journey by exploring various mediums and pushing the boundaries of her style.
Through her art, Dimitie communicates the beauty, resilience, and stories of the Dharawal and Wiradjuri people, celebrating their connection to the land they have lived on for generations. She strives to ensure that her culture is recognized, respected, and celebrated. Drawing on the knowledge passed down from her elders, Dimitie is proud to share her "deadly" culture, using her art as a platform for truth-telling and cultural storytelling.
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// Elder in Residence
l was born in Wondai Hospital, the old white hospital near Cherbourg. They took me and mum there because of the trouble I was giving her in childbirth. My mum’s name was Avril Murphy. When I was born half my family called me Gdaraphi which means “fair skinned one”. After mum and dad split up, me and my brother and sister moved to Stradbroke Island with Mum and lived with Aunty Mari and Uncle Jim Newfong. Mum went to the mainland to work, and then unfortunately due to difficult circumstances, my Dad Bobby Blair came and got us and took us back to Cherbourg where we stayed with my Grannie Mary Riley. In 1950 when I was 3, Mum came to visit me and my siblings, Kenny and Joy, and when she left she took my older brother Kenny with her and I didn’t see him again until I was sixteen.
I have always felt strong when learning about my Culture. I learnt a lot of Culture in Cherbourg over the years. As a young fella we used to get visits from black fellas from all over and they used to teach us. The old fellas were pretty strict in the old days.
After school in the afternoons I went a few houses up to Uncle Jack and Aunty Effie Arnold’s home. They had one daughter and two boys, Richard and Robert Arnold. Richard used to show me how to draw and paint. Richard was known as Stiffy cos he used to run really stiff when he was playing footy.
After school on a Friday when I finished my chores, I could go up the creek fishing and camping with Nanna Rosey Graham and Pa Fred and sometimes other old people. We used to take flour for damper, tea and sugar. I used to love fishing and cooking on the open fire. When I got a bit older Uncle Lenny Duncan used to take us hunting with Trevor Duncan and Audie Murphy Hopkins. We would ride horses. Sometimes I would walk with the Nannas and when I got my car I used to take them out hunting in my car.
I learnt to draw from my old people in Cherbourg and I still draw the same way. My grandfather Charlie Riley, Charlie Chambers and Uncle Angus Rabbit Snr were some of the old people that showed me how to draw. I still have some old pictures Uncle Angus Rabbit Snr drew for me and I have continued to draw in the similar style all these years. He showed me how to carve artefacts and walking sticks too. Drawing has got me through so many hard and wonderful times.
I was sent to work at Quoin Island, two miles off Gladstone when I was 14, against my will and when I managed to abscond I went to live with Dad at Nikenbah near Hervey Bay. I didn’t have permission to leave Cherbourg Mission and I had a Government warrant out for my arrest. After a year on the run I was eventually caught and taken back to Cherbourg and placed under the management of the Government again. My Dad applied for an exemption for me from the Aboriginals Preservation and Protection Act which was granted on the 4th of April 1963. I still have my exemption certificate. That's when I was given permission to go live with Dad again, outside of Cherbourg settlement.
Since my exemption I have worked all over Queensland in contract labour, like ring barking, stick picking, factory work, and much later on I worked in Aboriginal Community organisations. All this time I was working across Queensland, I was drawing and making art.
I remember when I really got back into art, I went to work at Calipe on the railways and I was working with three old white fellas in a fettling gang. They used to talk about a lot of things I wasn’t interested in at lunchtime so I used to carve and draw. I remember carving Dad a walking stick back then, I have now given that same walking stick to my nephew BJ Murphy who I hope will follow in my footsteps
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// Musician-Performer- Visual Artist
Keely Eggmolesse is a proud First Nations (Kabi Kabi and Gooreng Gooreng) and Australian South Sea Islander woman with over 12 years of experience in the arts and community sectors. She is a multidisciplinary artist, singer-songwriter, and storyteller, exploring various mediums like vocal techniques, dance, theatre, and visual arts. She is also a textiles designer and has a Bachelor of Business (Tourism, Leisure & Events) and a Diploma of Marketing.
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// Wearable Art
Renee is the creator behind Murri Girl Designs. Her business connects people with culture through wearable art. She create authentic and original, hand-painted earrings, upcycled fashion and quirky apparel with respect and love of culture.
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// Visual Artist and Musician
Strong, proud and intuitive, Yalanji/Samoan artist Jadamali has her roots planted deep in Yalanji culture and has also been exploring her Samoan identity since her late teens. Jadamali uses mostly the digital art platform to express her journey through life and to tell relatable stories. Jadamali’s intuitive futuristic style gives her artwork a depth of wisdom that extends well beyond her years. Her prints are multi-layered story telling pieces with powerful insight.
CLICK IMAGES FOR EXHIBITION TEXT
The logo represents the coming together of all mob who create Munimba-ja Art Centre, an Aboriginal Art Gallery and Culture Space that hosts a thriving creative community a nurturing breeding ground for new ideas.
When fresh water meets salt water, a convergence happens. A place is created for new life. This place of coming together becomes home to unique plants and animal communities that have adapted to the brackish waters of the in between spaces — a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawaters of the oceans.
These liminal places or estuaries also serve as natural filters and become perfect places to provide nurturing breeding grounds for many species of birds, fish, plants and more than human species. Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Many animals rely on estuaries for food, places to breed, and migration stopovers.
Munimba-ja Welcome Place is continually inspired by the meeting of fresh and salt water in the pursuit to nuture and maintain a safe space that can celebrate Blak Excellence.
The Munimba-ja Welcome Place logo was designed as a collaboration between Libby Harward a salt water Murri, and Bj Murphy a Fresh water Murri with Amy Franks and Jenny Zhao from Crumpet Club.