Jenny Fraser
Selected Works | Biography


© 2008



 

Jenny Fraser is an aesthete with an interest in other ways. Her family hails from Yugambeh country in South East Queensland. Her work is exhibited internationally, including ISEA 06 in San Jose and the Interactiva Biennales in Mexico, and she recently received an honourable mention at the imagineNATIVE Film Festival in Toronto.
Because of the diverse creative mediums Jenny uses, much of her work defies categorisation. More recently her work takes iconic and everyday symbols of Australian life and places them into a context that questions the values they represent. With a laconic sense of humour she picks away at the fabric of our society, exposing contradictions, absurdities, and denial.

Jenny is interested in refining the art of artist/curating as an act of sovereignty and emancipation. She is a centrifuge for Aboriginal Media Arts, founding cyberTribe online Gallery in 1999 and the Blackout Collective in 2002. She was the co-ordinator for the new media arts component of 'Spirit & Vision' a Trienniale featuring 94 Aboriginal Artists at Sammlung Essl in Vienna, and also part of the curatorial working group for 'conVerge - where art and science meet', the 2002 Adelaide Biennial, which was a major survey of Australian new media artworks. More recently she was the first Aboriginal Curator to present a Triennial exhibition in Australia: ‘the other APT’, coinciding and responding to the Asia Pacific Triennial.

Jenny has worked collaboratively through artist-in-residence programs and to date she has created works with the Hermannsburg Potters of the Northern Territory, the Kaurna Plains School in South Australia, and the Coen Community in Cape York. She has also participated in the first International Indigenous Art Residency at the Banff Art Centre in Canada, and was a NEWflames resident in the Campfire Group Studios in Brisbane.

She has also undertaken a creative fellowship to produce a body of work that celebrates the lives of Yugambeh family members that were moved from their traditional homelands to work on properties in the Gulf of Carpentaria and explores the artforms of immersive installation.

EXHIBITIONS + SCREENINGS
2008 Blue: a group exhibition fireworks gallery Brisbane Festival de decouverte de la Culture Contemporaine Aborigine Avignon France
Hand in Hand’ Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative & the Performanca Space @ CarriageWorks for Sydney Mardi Gras in the mean time Neue Galerie Dachau, Bavaria, Germany & Raw Space Galleries Brisbane
2007 La Revanche des Genres: Art Contemprain Australien’ Les Brasseurs Liege Belgium & Cite Paris France
Metis Media Festival Ottowa Ontario Canada
EF Online 07 Electrofringe Festival Newcastle Metis Media Festival Club Saw Ottowa Canada
All Stars Kuril Dhagun Indigenous Knowledge Centre Brisbane
under ground media arts festival Darwin Fringe Festival Darwin, Northern Territory
Travelling Light InteractivA07 Biennale of Interactive and Electronic Arts Yucatan Mexico & the Dreaming Festival Queensland
a room for you WINDOWS AK07 Auckland Festival New Zealand
Australian Film Festival Calgary Alberta Canada
East Coast – I saw the sun Lismore Gallery Ozflix Australian Film Festival Toronto & Vancouver Canada
2006/07 a room for you Kuril Dhagun State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
Mouvement Perpetual Cinema Antipodes Festival St Tropez France
NEW WAYS with Jason Davidson Raw Space Galleries Brisbane
Zero One ISEA – Inter-Symposium of Electronic Art San Jose California
Origins Colourise Festival Musgrave Park Brisbane
cut it out the Window @ Queensland Performing Arts Centre Brisbane
Forum International de P.A.U International Forum for Indigenous Peoples France
Outblack Containers Village Next Wave Festival Melbourne
2006 Two Way: Artists & Mentors (with Gloria Petyarre) fireworks Gallery Brisbane
2005/06Raw-Mus Raw Space Gallery Brisbane
The Dark & the Light IV fireworks gallery Brisbane
Uncovered Raw Space Gallery ARC Biennial Brisbane
The Journey Art Station Kollmitzburg Austria
L’Art Urbain Du Pacifique Diff Art Pacific Castle of St Auvent Limousin France
Feathers Float the Other Gallery Banff Arts Centre Alberta Canada
Persistence Institute of Modern Art Screening Room Brisbane
2004 Cultural Copy Fowler Museum of Cultural History Uinversity of California USA
Aotearoa Barbie Centre of Contemporary Art Christchurch Aotearoa New Zealand
Spirit & Visiona Sammlung Essl Klosterneuburg Vienna Austria
2003 InteractivA03 Biennale of New Media Museum of Contemporary Art Merida Mexico
Murri All Stars Tu Wai Indigenous Resource Centre Whangarei Aotearoa New Zealand
not really queenz’land NEWflames Studios fireworks gallery Brisbane
2002 Re-Identifications Australian Centre for Photography Sydney
Sydney: Resort of Thieves New South Wales State Records Sydney
2001 Whats Love got to do with it? Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Gallery Melbourne
InteractivA01 Biennale of New Media Museum of Contemporary Art Merida Mexico
2000 Project Wall Exhibition Australian Centre of Photography Sydney
AWARDS + PRIZES
2007 (Honourable Mention) imagineNATIVE festival New Media Category Toronto Canada
(Judges Prize) Stockland Art Award Queensland
2006 (pre-selected) imagineNATIVE festival Toronto Canada
(pre-selected) Artworkers Award Brisbane
Gold Coast Indigenous Art & Design Award (Photography)
2004/05 Creative Fellowship Arts Queensland Brisbane
2003 Special Excellence Award in Arts and Culture Creative Industries Queensland University of Technology Alumni
(Finalist) ATOM Awards Melbourne
2002 Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship
2001 SBS Scholarship to attend the Australian Screen Directors Association Conference Melbourne
Recipient Women in Information Technology Postgraduate Scholarship Award
1999 Finalist Short Film Competition Channel V Sydney
1998 Finalist Best Short Film Pandanus Film Festival Noosa Queensland

RESIDENCIES
2008 Marrackville Council National & International Residency Sydney
2007 24hr Art Contemporary Art Space Darwin
2005/06 Raw Space Galleries Brisbane
2005 ARTstation Kollmitzberg Austria
MVA Banff Arts Centre Alberta Canada
The Quarry Art Centre Whangarei Northland New Zealand
2004 Le Fevre High School Adelaide South Australia
2003 Communion & Other Conversations Indigenous Artists-In-Residence Program MVA Banff Canada
NEWflames program Campfire Group Studios fireworks gallery Brisbane
2002 Coen Community Cape York E-Book Production
Kaurna Plains Aboriginal School Adelaide Festival of Arts
2001 Hermannsburg Potters Hermannsburg Northern Territory

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
\Art Monthly. 2008. Political Kunst.. No207. March. p7
Von Wegen Menschenrechte. Sued Deutsche. January 24. R 2
Politische Kunst aus Australien. Sued Deutsche. January 24. R 1
Kunst – zeitkritisch und intercontinental. Dachau January 25. Nr 21
LA SFIDA DEL ARTE. 2007. Aboriginal New Media Art: a real cultural practice? Italy
Mundine, D. 2007. APT: Aboriginal People Try’. Artlink. April.
Flying Arts Annual Magazine. CollaboraNative. March.
NAVA Quarterly. Profile. March
Gaffney. K. 2006. the other APT, an exhibition of other perspectives. Machine Magazine. p17
Eltham, B. Another Viewpoint. The Courier Mail. November 28. p 53
Butler, S. Grab Culture. Machine Magazine. p16
Butler, S. other[wize]. Artlink 26 (2). p89.
The Courier Mail. Make em Laugh. January 31. p14
Banff Art Centre Canada. Transference, Tradition, Technology’ Native New Media, Exploring Visual & Digital Culture. Tofts. D. 2005. Interzone: Media Arts in Australia. New Art Series.
Carroli, L. Other[wize]: Jenny Fraser. catalogue essay.
Design & Craft Biennial. ARC Art. October. p43
National Indigenous Times. The Journey. October
Koori Mail. From Oz to Austria. October. catalogue.
Diff Art Pacific. L’Art urbain du Pacifique. catalogue. August. p22
Drumbeats to Drumbytes: Globalizing Networked Aboriginal Art’ Transference, Tradition, Technology: Native New Media etc.
APTN National News. (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) July 29. Winnipeg Canada.
New Zealand Herald. 2005. Collective look beyond Aboriginal stereotypes. July 8.
MacDonald, M. Indians in cyberspace. Conundrum Magazine. Urban Shaman Gallery. Canada.
Mason, N. Let my neck be washed by the waters of my own land. ArtLink Magazine. Vol 24. p87
Spinach 7 Magazine. 2004-05. Night Vision’ Visual Art. Issue 5. summer. p 55.
Stephanie, R. 2004. Bell tolls for Black Art in a White World. The Adelaide Review. p 20.
The Courier Mail. Wise to the Vibe. August 18. p25
The Courier Mail.2004. Window to another world. July 24. BAM 2.
Blundell,S. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. New Zealand Listener. http://www.listener.co.nz/default,2285.sm
Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award: Celebrating 20 Years. p35
Debra, A. Artists Program draws on inspiration. The Courier Mail. BAM. March 8.

COLLECTIONS
Australian Centre for Photography Sydney RMIT Gallery Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Melbourne Stockland, Brisbane; & University of Woollongong New South Wales.
Kummara Association Brisbane
CAALAS Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service Northern Territory
ART station Kollmitzberg Austria
Sammlung Essl Klosterneuburg Vienna Austria
Private Collections

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2007 Judge – Hora Hora Art Prize Whangarei Aotearoa New Zealand
2006 Jury Peer – New Media Arts Canada Council for the Arts Ottowa Ontario Canada
2006 Judge – the Harries National Digital Art Award Queensland Health Skills Development Centre Peer reviewer - New Media Cultures: Protocols for Producing Indigenous Australian New Media II
PUBLICATION
2006 Current Production - Uniikup Productions Brisbane
2005-06 Working Group - Pacific Rim ISEA 2006 (Inter-Society for Electronic Arts)
2005-06 Board – Queensland Museum Brisbane
2005 Coordinator – Austrian Tour of Aboriginal New Media Artists Blackout Collective
Current Board – Kummara Association Community Representative Brisbane
2004-06 co-Founder proppaNOW Artists Collective
Indigenous Content Advisor Electrofringe Festival Newcastle
New Media Coordinator Spirit + Vision: Aboriginal Art Sammlung Essl Museum Vienna
2003 WorkStudy - Indigenous Artists-In-Residence Program MVA Banff Canada
2002 Peer reviewer - New Media Cultures: Protocols for Producing Indigenous Australian New Media Publication
2001-02 Secretary National Experimental Film Festival Gold Coast Art Gallery
2000-02 Production Coordinator School of Arts Griffith University Brisbane
2000-02 Board of Management Australian Network for Art & Technology Adelaide
2001 Peer Advisor Australia Council for the Arts Fund Assessment Meeting Sydney
2001 Concept Designer Strong In the City Indigenous Health Project Brisbane
2000 Participant Vision Day for New Media Arts Australia Council for the Arts Sydney
2000 Web Developer - Brisbane Writers Festival Website & GUMURRII Centre Website GU
1999 Current Freelance Curator cyberTribe Indigenous Art Online
1999 Research Assistant for the Evaluation Team of the ATSI Studies Syllabus BOSSSS+QUT
1998 Art Director/ Wardrobe Designer Slaughter & Runner Brisbane
1997 Art Department/ Wardrobe Assistant/ Publicity Photographer. Mate 16mm Short Film
1995-00 Art / Film & TV Educator Secondary Schools Education Queensland
1989 Photographer for David Jones – Casual Cairns


EDUCATION
2002-04 Master of Communication Indigenous New Media Arts by Research
1999 Graduate Diploma in Arts Film & Television Production QUT
1991– 94 B. Education (Secondary) Art / Film & Media Majors QUT