bio

DONNA WRIGHT (Australian/Irish) 

Donna Wright is an Australian born visual artist and educator of Irish heritage and citizenship. Her professional research-led arts practice has spanned 35 years, with a national and international exhibiting profile. Donna has been an educator for 30 years pursuing a dedicated long-term objective of decolonising the western mind towards deep respect and gratitude for Indigenous ways of knowing and being.  Her longstanding familial and professional relationships with the Indigenous communities of what is now known as Australia has situated her political, ethical and moral values, and her ardent advocacy for Indigenous self-determination, particularly in continuing settler-colonial states. This advocacy is extended to all of her creative place-based explorations. 

Through place-based international residencies and projects, Donna seeks out the stories intrinsically rooted in the deep and ancient relationships we form with the natural world. Donna's creative paradigm embraces Indigenous Australian understandings of Caring for Country and contemporary eco-cultural art practices to interrogate the continuing colonial mindsets that impact our relation to the land. She asks us to shift into a more connected sensitivity for a world of interdependent beings; human, other-than-human, ecological  and mythological. 

Donna works primarily with mixed media of pigments, inks and threads on large loose canvases which are exhibited as streams of layered storytelling, either within larger gallery spaces or as environmental installations. Each canvas has its own lifeforce that dictates the final visual outcome.

Education
2007   Doctor of Philosophy  School of Arts and Social Sciences, Southern Cross University, Australia
2001   Master of Arts - Visual Art (Research) School of Arts and Social Sciences, Southern Cross University, Australia
1999   Graduate Diploma of Adult Education & Training Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies, University New England, Australia
1990   Bachelor of Arts - Fine Art Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia
1981   Diploma in Design Randwick Technical College, Sydney, Australia
2014   Certificate TESOL   ITTT: International TESOL and TEFL Training
2011   Certificate IV Small Business Management   Business Success Group P/L, Australia

Exhibitions
Solo / Group
2026 Calling up Berba (Solo)
The Arthouse Gallery, Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland
2025 Arte en la Naturaleza V (Invitational)
Natural Museum of Cantabria, Northern Spain
2025 Walking with Ancestor (Open studio)
Watershed Studios Artist Residency,  Galway, Ireland
2022 Kiss the Sea (Solo)
ArtSpace Wonthaggi, Regional Victoria, Australia
2017 Adventures of Dog and Girl (Solo)
Westgarth Street Open Studio, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
2017 Everywhere World (Group)
Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
2014 When You Own Your Own Stories (Solo)
The UpFront Club, Maleny, Queensland, Australia
2014 'The Imaginary Bones of Josie Hehir': Clare Notebooks Project (Group)
The Courthouse Gallery and Courthouse, Ennistymon, Ireland
2013 Impact and Consequence (Solo)
Highgate Hill Studio, Brisbane, Australia
2012 Travels with Gauguin : Tracing Culture (Solo)
Highgate Hill Studio, Brisbane, Australia
2010 Travels with Gauguin : Works on Paper (Solo)
Studio 116, Centre International d’Accueil et d'Echanges des Recollets, Paris, France
2010 Artistes résidents sur l'exposition (Group)
Chapelle des Recollets a Paris, St. Martin, Paris, France
2007 Ouvrez le Studio Art Contemporain (Group)
Chapelle des Recollets a Paris, St. Martin, Paris, France
2007 Big Blue Ball: Connecting the world through creativity (Solo)
American University in Paris (AUP), Paris
2007 Big Blue Ball: Pictures, people, place (Solo)
NEXT Gallery, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia
2004 Lines (Solo)
Forest Gallery, Mt Tamborine, Queensland, Australia
2001 Shifting Position (Solo)
Brisbane Powerhouse Centre for Live Arts, Brisbane, Australia
2001 Conrad Jupiters Art Awards (Group)
Gold Coast City Gallery, Gold Coast, Australia
1998 Riding the Cultural Boundaries (Group)
Queensland College of Art Gallery, Griffith University, Australia
1998 Doormats (Group)
Queensland College of Art Gallery, Griffith University, Australia
1996 Girls (Group)
Stradbroke Island Centre for Art & Design, Nth Stradbroke Island, Australia
1994 One World (Group)
Stradbroke Island Centre for Art & Design, Nth Stradbroke Island, Australia
1994 Landmarks (Group)
Stradbroke Island Centre for Art & Design, Nth Stradbroke Island, Australia
1993 Mapping Culture (Group)
Stradbroke Island Centre for Art & Design, Nth Stradbroke Island, Australia
1992 Cotton Bud Cultures & Colonial Cowgirls (Solo)
Museums of the Northern Territory: The Residency, Alice Springs, Australia
1992 Cotton Bud Cultures & Colonial Cowgirls (Solo)
McWhirters Artspace, Brisbane, Australia
1992 Elemental Linguistics (Group)
Point Lookout Community Gallery, Nth Stradbroke Island, Australia
1991 Place Maps (Solo)
Open Studio, Stradbroke Island Arts & Pottery Gallery, Nth Stradbroke Island, Australia
1991 Oddysseys & Ends - Women's Business (Group)
McWhirters Artspace, Brisbane, Australia
1991 Logan Art Awards (Group)
Logan Butter Factory, Brisbane, Australia
1990 Out Now (Group)
New MOCA, Brisbane, Australia
1990 Carolyne Barker Awards (Group)
Brisbane City Hall, Brisbane, Australia
1990 542 (Group)
Gallerie Brutal, Brisbane, Australia
1989 In-2-Media (Group)
Arch Lane Public Art, Brisbane, Australia
1989, 1988, Blue Stocking Exhibition (Group)
Queensland University Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

Grants and Residencies
2026 Artist in Residence, Laois Arthouse and Gallery, County Laois, Ireland
2026 Artist in Residence, Open-Kerminy, Kerminy Chateau, Rosporden, Brittany, France
2025 NAT Art Residence, SM Pro Art Circle, Cantabria, Northern Spain
2025 Watershed Studios Artist Residency, Galway, Ireland
2022 Creative Victoria Individual Art Grant, Regional Arts Victoria
2010 Artist in Residence, St. Aidan’s Anglican Girls College, Brisbane, Australia
2010 International Artist Residency, Centre International d’Accueil et d'Echanges des Recollets, Paris
2007 International Artist Residency, Centre International d’Accueil et d'Echanges des Recollets, Paris
1994 Artist in Residence, SICAD: Stradbroke Island Centre for Art and Design, Australia
1992 Individual Projects Grant, Arts Queensland, Australia
1992 Artist in Residence, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs, Australia
1991 Artist in Residence, Mitchell Gallery, North Stradbroke Island, Australia

Community Arts and Cultural Development Projects
2026 Future Ancestor Festival – Collaborating artist, Athy, Ireland
2026 Cruinniú na nÓg – ‘Calling up Berba on the River Barrow’, co-facilitator, Laois Arthouse, Stradbally, Ireland
2022  Kiss the Sea Community Arts Project - Facilitator, Bass Coast (Bunurong/Boon Wurrung), Victoria, Australia
2011 - 2013 Dupawali Festival, Bhutanese Community of Brisbane - Organising Committee, Brisbane, Australia
2002 - 2004 Indigenous Cultural Awareness Day- NAIDOC Celebrations - Coordinator, Mt Tamborine State School, Mt Tamborine, Australia
1999 - 2002 Indigenous Cultural Awareness Day – NAIDOC Celebrations - Coordinator, New Farm State School, Brisbane, Australia
1997 - 1999 NAIDOC Festival - Coordinator, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia
1997 - 1999 Sea of Hands Reconciliation Festival - Coordinator, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia
1997 - 1999 Multicultural Festival - Coordinator, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia
1997 - 1999 Indigenous Culture Week - Coordinator, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia
1993  One World Festival - Organising Committee - North Stradbroke Island, Australia
1992 - 1994  NAIDOC Festival - North Stradbroke Island, Australia, Workshop Facilitator
1989 Mudflat Arts – Esplanade Escapades - Organising Committee, Wynnum, Brisbane, Australia

Research and Scholarship
Theses
2007  Big blue ball: Pictures, people, place (Books 1-3). Doctoral Dissertation, Southern Cross University.
2001  Shifting position. Master’s Dissertation, Southern Cross University. 

Peer reviewed publications
2009  Practising creative innovation across cultures. International Journal of the Humanities, 7 (1), 9-27.
2009  An intercultural aesthetic dialogue: Creativity and innovation across cultures. International Journal of the Arts in Society, 4 (1), 33-35.
2009  The visual artefact as site for cross-cultural engagement: Making new connections, imagining new possibilities. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 4 (1), 199-212.
2007  The humanity of creativity: The transformative value of the imagination in setting up sites for new knowledge construction. SLEID: Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development, 4 (2), 41-53.
2007  Connecting the world through creativity: Using creative practice to facilitate a sharing of meaning across cultures. International Journal of the Humanities, 5 (2), 83-88.
2007  Connect + Create = Transform: Creativity and creative practice building understanding across cultures. International Journal for Diversity in Communities, Organisations and Nations, 7 (2), 61-65.
2006  Big blue ball: Pictures, people, place: An intercultural playground for creative conversations. International Journal of the Humanities, 4 (2), 31-39.

International conference presentations
2010  10th International Conference on Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Belfast.
2009   5th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Beijing.
2009   4th International Conference on the Arts in Society, Venice.
2009  4th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Athens.
2007  5th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Paris.
2007  7th International Conference on Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Amsterdam.
2006  4th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Tunis.

Professional History
2010 - Current 
Research, Education and Training Consultant 
2000 – 2018 
University Lecturer, Course Coordinator, Curriculum Designer and Course Writer - Visual, Professional and Cross-cultural Communication
Central Queensland University; James Cook University: Griffith University: Brisbane and Gold Coast, Australia
1997 – 2000 
Tutor (Indigenous learning support) Community Development - Student Services
Griffith University - Queensland College of Art, Brisbane and Gold Coast, Australia
1991 – 1993
Campus Manager and Course Development
North Stradbroke Island Community (TAFE) Learning Centre, Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island),  Australia
1993 - 1996
Community Development, Projects and Funding Consultant
Minjerribah North Stradbroke Island, Australia
1983 – 1987
Graphic Designer and Public Relations
Queensland Nurses Union of Employees, Brisbane, Australia