Together with the Bendigo NAIDOC Week Committee, Bendigo Art Gallery is delighted to present a discussion with First Nations Curator Shonae Hobson and the very inspiring First Nations Fashion + Design Director Grace Lillian Lee and Manager Teagan Cowlishaw. Being the National Industry body that nurtures a self-sustaining First Nations Fashion + Design ecosystem, Grace and Teagan will be sharing insights into the Indigenous Fashion Industry with exciting sneak peeks of the Piinpi; Contemporary Indigenous Fashion exhibition. 

About the speakers;

Grace Lillian Lee

Grace Lillian Lee is a multicultural Australian Artist known for drawing inspiration from her Indigenous Heritage. Through collaborations with Australian Indigenous Communities and their Art Centres she has created a platform for Cultural expression and celebration by way of fashion performances. These are instrumental in engaging young people from remote communities and providing an opportunity for them to represent and be proud of their Culture and Country through fashion and performance.

Along with Grace’s involvement with Indigenous Communities, she is also a practicing Artist. She uses fashion and adornment to represent her own diverse Cultural Heritage. She has become known for her wearable interpretations of traditional Torres Strait Island weaving techniques that take the form of body sculptures and accessories. By bringing such techniques into the contexts of both art and fashion Grace has engaged a wide audience allowing her to develop a successful business based on woven accessories, celebrating and exploring her lineage. 

Grace’s creations have exhibited at The National Gallery of Victoria, the Jam Factory, Adelaide and Cairns Regional Gallery. Her work has been acquired by the South Australian Museum, National Gallery of Victoria, Cairns Regional Gallery, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Studies and Kluge Ruhe Collection at the University of Virginia, and with current interest from National Gallery Australia.

Find out more now. 

Teagan Cowlishaw

TJ Cowlishaw’s family kinship lies with Nyikina people and paternal connections are with Bardi and Nyul Nyul people on the Dampier Peninsular, WA. (Grandmother's ancestry - Family name: Hunter). She is also a descended from the Chinese Pirates of Shanghai (Grandfather's ancestry - Family name: (Jan).

In 2019, AARLI linked up with Designers, Artists and Art Centres from around the nation to host a First Nations Fashion collective Pop Up Shop on Chapel Street. In 2020, AARLI has been working with Cox Inall Ridgeway to develop first retail pop up shop called First Nations NAIDOC shop held at Broadway Westfield shopping centre in Ultimo, NSW.

TJ’s Career milestone include being part of the Grace Lillian Lee event production team to be contracted to coordinate fashion performance at the 2019 Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. Being the Producer and working alongside Creative Director Grace Lillian Lee for the 2019 ‘From Country to Couture’ fashion performances including the first show that the official launch of the Gorman x Mangkaja collection. Plus the second showcase featuring first Indigenous collaboration between Bima Wear x Clair Helen.

Find out more here. 

Shonae Hobson
Shonae Hobson is a Southern Kaantju woman from Coen, Cape York Peninsula.  Shonae graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Anthropology and Art History, from the University of Melbourne. She has worked in a variety of arts and cultural spaces, including as the assistant curator for the Donald Thomson Collection exhibition at the University of Melbourne, as a research intern for Northern Australian Collections online at the Melbourne Museum and as Project Officer for the Coen Regional Aboriginal Corporation Women’s Support Centre. Shonae currently resides on Dja Dja Wurrung Country where she holds the position of First Nations Curator at Bendigo Art Gallery.

Join us for this event via live streaming on our Facebook page.