Adjunct Professor Wayne Quilliam is one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous photographers/artist/curators/videographers and cultural advisers working at a local, national and international level. His award winning career includes the coveted National NAIDOC Indigenous Artist of the Year, nominated as a Master of Photography by National Geographic, winner of Business of the Year for the Australian Indigenous Minority Supplier Council and finalist in numerous photographic and art awards. Wayne won the 2008 Human Rights Media Award for his work on the Apology and the prestigious Walkley Award for his social documentary on the Redfern Riots.
He has created and curated over 130 exhibitions throughout the world and been published in more than 1000 magazines, books and newspapers. Wayne is currently a National Ambassador for the Year of Literacy, Ambassador for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence and Ambassador for Reconciliation Australia. When not at home with his wife and daughter he is generally found in communities throughout the country sharing his knowledge and teaching youth the expression of culture through the lens. He is writing three children’s books, producing a coffee table book and working with Magabala the Aboriginal publishing company on a new series of publications.
His work includes documenting significant Indigenous events over the past 15 years including the Apology, 1967 Referendum anniversary, Garma, Laura, Burunga, Dreaming and Yeperenye festivals and thousands of community events throughout the country. Wayne works with Indigenous groups in Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Guam developing intercultural art and cultural exchanges with the vision of creating global exhibitions.
Wayne’s practical working knowledge of Indigenous issues throughout the country is highly valued and sought after by international corporations including federal, state and local governments. He runs photographic workshops in remote, rural and urban communities and lectures at universities, secondary and primary educational facilities in Australia and overseas. In harmony with his photojournalistic work he is recognised as one of the country’s top artists for his diverse art practices including the ‘Lowanna’ series (seen here) that infuses textures of earth onto the human form, ‘Towindri’ landscape art and ‘Smoke’ exhibition exploring the cultural significance of smoking ceremonies. It is estimated his photographic exhibition of the ‘Apology’, ‘Sorry more than a Word’ that opened at Parliament House in Canberra has been experienced by more than a quarter of a million people and continues to attract large audiences as it travels the world. Wayne currently has two ‘Lowanna’ series touring, one in Germany the second in Australia.
