Artists in Conversation: Dora Griffiths and Jan Griffiths
Join us for an evening of conversation in the context of the exhibition Our Unbroken Line: The Griffiths Family. Listen as Dora Griffiths, artist and curator of the exhibition, and her sister Jan Griffiths, exhibiting artist, speak about their artistic and curatorial practices, and give context to the artwork on view. The conversation will be moderated by curatorial fellow Katina Davidson. A reception will follow.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Dora Gerrgngarri Griffiths is an artist, curator and arts administrator of the Miriwoong and Ngarinyman peoples. She was born in Kununurra, Western Australia, where she lives with her five children and fifteen grandchildren. Dora has been a director of the Waringarri Aboriginal Arts board and the Chair for several years. She completed an arts-worker extension program in 2012 in which she learned art industry skills including conservation. In 2018 she earned a Certificate in Cross Cultural Conservation and Heritage from the University of Melbourne. In 2019, Dora participated in an Art Gallery of Western Australia internship program, and has since curated numerous exhibitions including, The Alternative Archive (2019) and Open Borders (2022), which toured regionally throughout Western Australia. In 2023 she was awarded the East Kimberley Aboriginal Achievement Award for her outstanding contribution to culture and community.
Jan Baljagil Gunjaka Griffiths is a dedicated and prolific artist primarily working across painting, ceramics and poetry. Her work explores personal family narratives which have also included multi-media installations, fashion and photography.
“I was born in Kununurra and I went to school in Broome. I started painting at Waringarri Arts in 2015 to carry on the stories of my parents, Peggy and A. Griffiths – the cultural stories that were handed down to them and now to me. Both my parents are famous artists in the Kimberley but most importantly, they are my traditional teachers. I too can keep our tradition alive and hand the stories of our ancestors and how our country came to be, down to the next generation and generations to come. I do this with great pride and honour. I am a multi-disciplinary artist and my arts practice includes paintings, poetry, ceramics and couture fashion.”
Jan has exhibited extensively and presented ceramic demonstrations at galleries and festivals within Australia such as the Ceramics Triennial. She was a finalist in the 2018 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), the 2020 Indigenous Fashion Awards, and exhibited at the 2021 Indian Ocean Craft Triennial.
Katina Davidson (Kullilli/Yuggera) is Curator of Indigenous Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane. Among her recent curatorial projects is the exhibition mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri: Judy Watson, a career survey of work by the acclaimed Brisbane-based Waanyi artist at Queensland Art Gallery. She has joined Kluge-Ruhe for a 2024-25 curatorial fellowship supported by Creative Australia, and is curating an exhibition for the museum’s main galleries that focuses on paintings by Spinifex People from Tjuntjuntjara, Western Australia, produced between 2001-2021. Davidson continues to work on independent curatorial and writing projects and is also a practicing artist.
Images:
1.Dora Griffiths. Photo by Andrew Seabourne, ABC Kimberley.
2. Jan Griffiths. Photo by Grace Lillian Lee and Chris Baker.
3. Katina Davidson. Photo by C.Callistemon, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art.