Emily Murray

Emily Murray identifies herself as a Girramay and Jirrbal Traditional Owner of the Davidson Creek area. Emily lives at Murray Upper, north-west of Cardwell.

Emily has a very strong connection to place and heritage and draws from traditional stories, calendar events in the lives of plants and animals, and the places where she lives and camps for her inspiration. Emily is not afraid of a challenge and works across a number of mediums including weaving, painting and ceramics. Her work is represented in a number of private and institutional collections in Australia including the Queensland Art Gallery.

As a weaver of traditional mindi baskets, Emily has been a tutor and demonstrator of weaving practices at schools and art centres across Far North Queensland.

The Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, based in Cardwell, represents artists from nine Traditional Owner Groups, the Nywaigi, Gugu Badhun, Warrgamay, Warungnu, Bandjin, Girramay, Gulgnay, Jirrbal and Djiru people.

The traditional country of these groups covers some 25,000 square kilometres, from north of Townsville, south-west to Clarke River, north to the Mission Beach area, west to Ravenshoe and east to include Hinchinbrook and the Family Group Islands.

Djumbunji Press, through collaborative printer Bobbie Ruben, delivered workshops in screen printing at the Girringun Art Centre as a means of providing practical support to the artists after many suffered devastating losses as a result of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi. The resultant exhibition, Gijalordi, explores the local Kingfisher story.

Collections
WWF, Brisbane, Qld
Group Exhibitions
2009 Group Exhibition Margara Gallery, Atherton Qld
2009 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair Tank Arts Centre, Cairns Qld.
2009 Girringun Gallerysmith, Melbourne Vic.
2009 Murray Upper and Beyond Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Cardwell Qld.
2009 Yaiyn Bulai Jamanjarran, Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Cardwell Qld.
2009 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns Qld.
2009 Three hundred and thirty Gallerysmith, Melbourne Vic.
2009-10 Mundi – Together Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Cardwell Qld.
2010 Girringun Yunggul One Together Suzanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane Qld.
2010 Spirited, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane Qld.
2010 Girringun at Canopy Australian Art Network Galleries at Canopy Artspace, Cairns
2010 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum & Art Gallery of NT, Darwin NT
2010 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Tanks Art Centre, Cairns Qld.
2010 Girrringun Gallerysmith, Melbourne Vic
2011 Spinifex Country and Beyond, Gatakers Artspace, Maryborough Qld.
2011 Bunyaydinyu Bagu, Susanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane Qld.
2011 Bunyaydinyu Bagu, Merenda Gallery Fremantle WA
2011-12 Across Country Five Years of Indigenous Australian Art, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane Qld.
Commissions
2011 Queensland Rail Brisbane to Cairns Tilt Train, Qld
Bibliography
Cover image, Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, Vol 55 No. 4 2009