Flourish: First Nations Fashion and Textiles Fund

Simone Arnol embodies a profound commitment to grassroots practices while honouring the wisdom of Elders, the custodians of knowledge. As a proud descendant of the Gunggandji Peoples from Yarrabah, her deep connection to family and country serves as the foundation for her artistic endeavours.

Drawing inspiration from the Elders, Children and Traditional Owners who have shaped her journey in Indigenous Law and Native Title, Simone is an emerging artist dedicated to representing her culture. Her work spans various mediums, including canvas, paper portraits, photography, textiles, and clothing design, each piece resonating with the rich stories of her heritage.

With a focus on cultural and environmental sustainability, Simone continually explores new mediums and techniques. In recent years, she has made significant contributions to the fields of fashion curation, event design, and artistic showcase. Notably, she has participated in the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair’s Fashion Performance for six consecutive years and co-curated this premier event for three years.

In 2017, she became the first Indigenous designer to feature at The Australian Eco Fashion Week in Perth. Her accolades include winning the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA) in the Environmental and Sustainability Contribution category in 2021, and most recently, the NIFA for Fashion Designer in 2024. Through her collections, Simone seamlessly merges contemporary aesthetics with compelling narratives, powerfully conveying the history and resilience of her people.

Badu art is created with commitment and a quiet dedication to our chosen craft. We work in a range of visual and creative mediums including printmaking, textiles, jewellery, and carving.

Reflecting our strong cultural traditions and our relationships with the natural world, our artwork expresses our love and dedication to the ocean, to our Island and all of its creatures. We share our relationship with the four winds of Zenadth Kes, the rain, earth, skies, stars and the sun.

To see our art is to be given direct access to another world; a world powerfully alive with myths and stories and ancient traditions that we continue to cherish and share. Badu is a special place, and this specialness – this ‘Aislan Kustom’ is felt in all we do here.

Our mission is to create and provide opportunity for Mura Badulgal (Badu Island people) to express their arts and in doing so increase and strengthen the awareness of Badu Island Culture.

CIAF is committed to strengthening and celebrating culture, creating professional development opportunities for artists, and cultural exchange between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and visitors.

CIAF is focused on offering an ethical art market place, attracting national and international collectors and curators, commissioning new work and providing pathways for emerging visual and performance artists.

Patha polngol ngatherruw patha kunjarr ngen kokthapal Pinnarinch (my homeland) is my mother’s place and we the Kokoberrin people are the owners of this place! Pinnarinch Ma Wanjibang.

I am Ma Wanjibung Pukun. Pa la Nganduw Kedew, Dingo Clan of the Kokoberrin People, Staaten River, Cape York. I acknowledge my thangk, ancestors who lived for warrék, hundreds of thousands of years evolving under the starlight of the patháliy ngamáyvrr with their place, with their walngk, feelings, with their story, pínganvm, with their lore/law, called bora, yirral. I acknowledge my thangk who are buried on country at Pinnarinch, Inkerman Station in Cape York.

Ma Wanjibung is the sour yam that grows at the reed bed on the 3-mile ridge. It’s native to that place. Pukun is the grass that grows in the pockets south of Pinnarinch. These pulénthvrr, two totems survive through me as a descendant and ngánduw, I take their energy and connection and accept them chichvrráy, forever from my chélmanvngk, clever man, ngathérruw, pa-thérrkathvny (pa-) wanggénvng my boy Kenny Jimmy.

Wild Barra foundations are based on my Kokoberrin ancestry. My lived experience is vast, and my creative passion keeps my mind and body active. Innovation and creativity interest me because they align with my being. I flourish in an enabling environment where Cultural Safety, innovation and creativity are allowed, understood and cherished.

I acknowledge the land I live on today belonging to the Yirrganydji people in Gimuy, Cairns. Their sovereignty keeps me strong as a stranger to lands and waters never ceded.

My Pronouns are:
I, He, Originally
Nganduw, Yeluw, Kanbaw

David Leslie, founder and designer of GALI Swimwear, is a proud Kamilaroi man with family roots in Coonabarabran, NSW. Now based in Bondi on Gadigal and Bidjigal lands, David draws inspiration from his deep connection to the coast, where he serves as a volunteer surf lifesaver with North Bondi SLSC.

David has participated in the Indigenous Fashion Projects program by the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair and was recognized by The Sydney Morning Herald as one of the “52 New Makers of 2023.” His collections have been showcased at Australian Fashion Week, Melbourne Fashion Festival, and Miami Swim and Resort Week. GALI Swimwear has been featured in The Sydney Morning Herald, Esquire, National Indigenous Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Fashion Journal, and various publications across the U.S., gaining recognition for blending First Nations culture with sustainable men’s swimwear.

Juanita Page is a proud Gooreng Gooreng and South Sea Islander woman based in Naarm, Melbourne. After graduating with a Bachelor in Fashion Design Technology at RMIT, Juanita worked for a local design agency before launching her own menswear label, JOSEPH & JAMES, and has since successfully released three capsule collections. She showcased at Australian Fashion Week ’24 as part of David Jones x Indigenous Fashion Projects Runway and was nominated for Indigenous Designer of the Year at the 2023 Australian Fashion Laureate. Juanita has also shown her collections at Melbourne Fashion Festival and Melbourne Fashion Week, with her brand featuring in publications such as GQ, Esquire, Vogue, Australian Financial Review, Harper’s Bazaar, Broadsheet, and Fashion Journal.

Image by Rob Tennent

Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation was incorporated in Roebourne in 2000 for the purpose of recording and sustaining Yindjibarndi practices, subsequently amassing a vast archive of cultural knowledge. Juluwarlu Art Group was established by the Corporation in 2017 to facilitate further opportunities for the sharing of culture and has marked itself by embracing a wide range of experimental mediums.

Sandra King (O.A.M) is a former Aboriginal model who directs, manages and presents Indigenous events, fashion parades, model training and community programs. Sandra is based in South East Queensland.

Sandra’s involvement with modelling began when she was 14 years of age. She is known throughout the community for passing on her knowledge and guidance while engaging in cultural discussions with Elders, professional Indigenous business men and women and the community.

Her programs and work experience are many and varied, including Black to Basics program for disadvantaged women and youth, Deportment, Personal Empowerment Program (PEP Talk), Leadership Programs, Indigenous history presented to teachers and Stolen Generation discussions.

Events involving Sandra’s professional services have included directing Indigenous parades, managing and coordinating Indigenous performers and artists in local, state, national and international events, and the annual Black Bold & Beautiful Indigenous Women’s Luncheon since 2009.

​Sandra King Management aims to achieve the greatest possible impact upon the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community by delivering practical, inspiring, marketable and engaging projects.

A proud Yuwaalaraay woman from Lightning Ridge NSW, Julie Shaw has always had a passion for art and design. She launched fashion brand Maara Collective in 2019 with an intention to celebrate and showcase Australian Indigenous art and culture through contemporary fashion.

Upon studying design at the University of Technology Sydney, Julie went on to work internationally before returning to Australia to work her way through the fashion industries of Sydney and Melbourne. She was the recipient of the inaugural Australian Fashion Laureate for Indigenous Designer of the Year in 2021, named Designer of the Year at the Marie Claire Women of The Year Awards in 2022, and received both the Fashion Design and Community Collaboration Awards in partnership with Bula’bula Arts at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards in 2020.

Julie is passionate about mentoring and supporting the next generation of Indigenous design talent through local fashion programs, and of showcasing and championing the works and stories of all collaborating artists.

The Mowanjum Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre is a creative hub for the Worrorra, Ngarinyin and Wunumbal tribes, who make up the Mowanjum community outside Derby, Western Australia.

These three language groups are united by their belief in the Wandjina as a sacred spiritual force and the creators of the land. They are the custodians of Wandjina law and iconography.

The centre hosts exhibitions, workshops and community projects, as well as the annual Mowanjum Festival, one of Australia’s longest running indigenous cultural festivals.

NAGULA JARNDU DESIGNS (NJD) is the trading name for Yawuru Jarndu Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 1668), incorporated and operating since 1987; a not for-profit Aboriginal Women’s Arts and Resource Centre governed and operated by the Yawuru women of Broome, Western Australia.

NJD is an Arts and Textiles Centre, offering training in hand block printing, screen printing and producing fabrics for fashion and homewares. The retail operation was established as a social enterprise in 1998, as an income-generating extension to the work of the Arts and Textiles Centre.

NJD is governed by a strong and experienced board of directors from Yawuru, Jabirr Jabirr, Bardi Jawi, and Bunuba heritage. Our studio, retail and production arms and artists are supported by a team of executive, creative and administration staff with expertise spanning arts sector and community development, business management, finance, education and design.

Tjarlirli & Kaltukatjara Art are two community-owned art centers located on either side of the border between the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Tjarlirli art centre is located in Tjukurla, a small community in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Kaltukatjara art centre is just across the border in the Pitjantjatjara Lands of the Northern Territory.

Together, Tjarlirli & Kaltukatjara Art represents around 100 artists and are one of the few community-owned and governed Aboriginal art centres that operate across state borders. Tjarlirli & Kaltukatjara Art’s strength lies in the deep connection between the two communities and the drive to keep stories, culture and history alive.

Image of Adam Butler, Silk Painting, Tjukurla