CIAF Series - Darren Blackman

This series is presented in partnership with Black Magic Woman, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair and Bumma Bippera Media 98.7 FM. The Cairns Indigenous Art Fair will run from 6-10 July in Cairns, go to https://ciaf.com.au for more information on what’s on and for tickets.

Darren Blackman is a proud Gureng Gureng\Gangalu man with maternal South Sea heritage (from Vanuatu) and was born in Nambour, Sunshine Coast. 

With a range of practical skills and approaches to art making, Darren generally specialises in printmaking and ceramics but also undertakes improv performance, music and painting. He has wide experience in the arts, as a musician but also as a stage manager and sound technician for cultural festivals from Woodford to Winds of Zenadth Kes festival on Thursday Island. He assisted students as studio technician at Cairns TAFE and is currently working for the senior artists at the Wik and Kugu Art Centre in Aurukun. 

Growing up in a main stream community on the Sunshine Coast during the corrupt Bjelke- Peterson State Governement era, constant negative news cycles concerning first nations people, biased policing and Government policy drives Blackmans expression. His work centres around circumstances evoved from a post colonial system, that censors truth while opresses the sovereign rights of his clan. 

Language is a powerful tool that is used by institutions to influence, write law and imbed false narratives into the Australian psyche. In the form of text, Blackman uses language in a variety of interpretations to pick apart falsehoods and policies, while passing on messages from elders, that he reworks into contemporary artworks for the future generations of his clan, and the wider community to consider. 

Recommendations throughout this episode: 

http://northsite.org.au/artists/darren-blackman/

https://ciaf.com.au/

Website: www.blackmagicwoman.com.au

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The Black Magic Woman Podcast is hosted by Mundanara Bayles and is an uplifting conversational style program featuring mainly Aboriginal guests and explores issues of importance to Aboriginal people and communities.  Mundanara is guided by Aboriginal Terms of Reference and focusses more on who people are rather than on what they do.

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