| Code | DS/UK/546 |
| Person Name | Croft; Brenda (1964-); Academic, Artist, Educator, Teacher, Curator, and Creative-Led Researcher |
| Dates | 1964- |
| Dates and Places | 1964 Born in Perth, Australia
1974 Lived on the Ngambri/ Ngunnawal homelands for ten years
1985 Completed the first year of her BA in Visual Arts at Sydney College of Arts, University of Sydney, Sydney
1995 Awarded a Master of Art Administration at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney
2017 Returned to living on the Ngambri/ Ngunnawal homelands
2021 Received a PhD from the University of New South Wales, Sydney
2024 Spends time living in Massachusetts during her time as the Gough Whitlam & Malcolm Fraser Visiting Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University |
| History | Croft was born in 1964 in Perth, Australia. She is an Australian First Nations woman from the Gurindji/ Malingin/ Mudburra peoples from the Victoria River Region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Croft’s connection to First Nations people has been a crucial influence on her career, and is a frequent focus of her work. Croft has been a key figure in the development of Australian First Nations creative cultural sectors, with much of her career focused on showcasing the culture and experience of First Nations communities. Her contribution to First Nations communities can be seen in her role as a founding member and later general manager of the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operation, whose primary goal is to provide support for First Nations artists.
Croft has had an extensive academic and artistic career, beginning with her completion of a first year of study in Visual Arts at Sydney College of Arts, University of Sydney in 1985. In 1995, Croft received a Master of Art Administration from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales. Later in her career, in 2021, Croft received her PhD. Croft has worked as a Senior Curator at museums and galleries across Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia, where she was a Senior Curator in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art. She has also held many prestigious academic positions, and is currently (2024) the Gough Whitlam & Malcolm Fraser Visiting Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University. |
| Activity | Artistic practice (selected)
2021 Longing for Home, Art Gallery of NSW, 6 March – 22 August. Artists: Daniel Boyd, Brenda L Croft, Roy Kennedy, Ricky Maynard, Peter Mungkari and Carlene West.
2020- 21 Know my name: Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now (part 1), National Gallery of Australia
2020 – 21 Belonging: Stories of Australian Art, National Gallery of Australia
2020 - 21 Seeing Canberra, Canberra Museum + Art Gallery, 7 March 2020 – 24 July
2021 Seeing Canberra exhibition Indigenous themed self-guided tour.
2020 National Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 6 March - 27 September
2019 – 20 How The City Cares, for The Big Anxiety Festival of arts + science + people, Customs House, Sydney, 14 September – mid April 2020, curated by Bec Dean
2019 – 20 City Dialogue, Customs House, Sydney, 5 November, curated by Dr Felicity Fenner
2019 hand/made/held/ground, Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, 19 November - 14 December, solo exhibition
2018 Hindmarsh Prize, Canberra Glassworks, 21 - 30 September, Fitters Workshop, Kingston; Toyama Art Glass Museum, Japan 26 October to 4 November 2018, shortlisted artist
2018 Head-to-Head: Shifting Perspectives in Australian portraiture, Flinders University Art Museum, 26 April – 24 June
2018 Genius loci, group exhibition, Canberra Glassworks, 4 April - 3 June
2017 - 18 Tell: Ballarat International Foto Biennale, 19 August – 17 September, The Mining Exchange, Ballarat, Vic, touring 2018
2017 - 18 The Boomalli Ten: Boomalli 30th anniversary exhibition, Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, Sydney, 3 Nov – 28 January
2017 – 18 Under Pressure: Cicada Press, Tarnanthi Festival, Art Gallery of South Australia, 13 October 2017 – 28 January 2018
2017 – 18 A Widening Gap: The Intervention, 10 Years On, The Cross Arts Project, Sydney,
2017 Everyone has a history Part One: Plain Speak, Art Gallery of Western Australia
2017 Honouring Cultures: ACT Arts Residency, 4 – 29 September, Canberra Glassworks
2017 Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, 26 May – 10 September
2016 - 18 Resolution: contemporary Indigenous photography, National Gallery of Australia touring exhibition
2016 subalter/N/ative dreams, solo exhibition, doctoral research, Stills Gallery, Sydney, 27 July - 27 August, solo exhibition
2016 Sea of Hands: 20th anniversary, commission, Barangaroo Cultural Precinct, Sydney, May 27 - 3 June
2013 Brenda L Croft, survey exhibition, 25 years in the collection, Yiribana Gallery, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, 6 Apr – 15 October
2013 Thicker than water, Museum of Contemporary Native American Art, Santa Fe, USA. Symposium ‘The Personal Archive: Memory and Imagination in Contemporary Art’, 19 January.
2012 – 13 Making change: celebrating 40th anniversary of Australia-China relations, National Museum of China in conjunction with the Australian Centre for Photography & the College of Fine Arts, UNSW. Curatorial advisor and participating artist
2012 - 13 Shadowlife, Asialink/Bendigo Art Gallery touring exhibition, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Thailand; Australia
2009 - 10 homeland (Heimat) CACSA (Contemporary Art Space of South Australia), Adelaide; CACSA Projects 2010, Institute of Contemporary Arts, LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore
2009 She’ll be right mate: strangers in a strange land, solo exhibition, Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide
2008 – 9 Half light: Portraits from Black Australia Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
2005 - 6 Peripheral Vision, solo exhibition, Artplace, Perth; Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
2003 – 4 Man about town, solo exhibition, Artplace, Perth; Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
2000 Wuganmagulya (Farm Cove), Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Sculpture Walk, City of Sydney commission
1998 In my mother's garden, solo exhibition, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1998 In My Father's House, solo exhibition, The Australian Centre for Photography with Boomalli Aboriginal Artists' Co-operative, Sydney
1994 Strange Fruit, solo exhibition, The Performance Space with Boomalli Aboriginal Artists' Co-operative, Redfern, Sydney
1993 The Big Deal is Black, solo exhibition, The Australian Centre for Photography with Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, Paddington, Sydney
1992 Conference Call, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Curatorial practice (selected)
2017 Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality, in partnership with UNSW Galleries, UNSW Art + Design; University of Queensland Art Museum; Karungkarni Art + Culture Aboriginal Corporation; with support from the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. National tour (2018 - 2022) supported by Visions of Australia and Artback NT Touring Agency
2017 A Change is Gonna Come: 50th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum/25thAnniversary of the Mabo Decision, Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs, National Museum of Australia, 1 December 2016 – 31 May 2017
2015 'We are in Wonder LAND' Symposium, presented as part of We are in Wonderland: New Experimental art from Central Australia, UNSW Galleries/National Institute of Experimental Arts, UNSW Art + Design. Symposium Mistress of Ceremonies, Q+A Facilitator,15 May; Exhibition Curatorial Advisor
2011 Stop(the)gap/Mind(the)gap: international Indigenous art in motion, Adelaide Film Festival 2011, with Samstag Museum of Art, UniSA and associated venues.
2007 - 9 National Indigenous Art Triennial: Culture Warriors, National Gallery of Australia, and national tour, 2008; international tour to Katzen Art Center, American University, Washington, DC, USA, 2009
2006 - 8 Michael Riley: sights unseen, National Gallery of Australia, ACT 14 Jul. 2006-16 Oct. 2006, Monash Gallery of Art, Wheelers Hill, Vic. 16 Nov. 2006-25 Feb. 2007, Dubbo Regional Gallery, Dubbo and Moree Plains Gallery, Moree, 12 May-8 Jul. 2007, 19 May-15 Jul. respectively, Museum of Brisbane, Qld 27 Jul-19 Nov. 2007, Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW 22 Feb.-27 Apr. 2008
2002 - 6 First Nations cultural exchange from the federal Government to the French Government, facilitated through the Australia Council for the Arts.
2003 South West Central: Indigenous art from south Western Australia 1833-2002, Art Gallery of Western Australia. Guest curator for the 2003 Perth International Art Festival
2000 Beyond the Pale: contemporary Indigenous art Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Adelaide Festival 2000. Guest Curator
1997 - 9 fluent: Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Yvonne Koolmatrie & Judy Watson, Australian Pavilion 47th Venice Biennale, & Australian tour. Curatorial team member with Hetti Perkins & Victoria Lynn for the Art Gallery of NSW. 1997 (Venice), 1998 (Australian tour)
Awards and Career
2024 Gough Whitlam & Malcolm Fraser Visiting Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University 2024 Appointed to the Australian Research Council College of Experts
2022 Awarded UNSW Dean’s Award for Outstanding Thesis 2018 Professor of Indigenous Art History & Curatorship at the Australian National University, Canberra
2017 Senior Curator in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs at the National Museum of Australia
2012-2016 Senior Research Fellow with the National Institute for Experimental Art at the University of New South Wales Art and Design 2009-2011 Senior Lecturer of Indigenous Art, Culture and Design across the David Unaipon Centre for Indigenous Education and Research, Art, Architecture, and Design
2002-2009 Senior Curator in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia
1999-2001 Curator of Indigenous Art at the Art Gallery of Western Australia |
| Published Works | Croft, B, Toussaint, S, Meakins, F et al. 2020, '""For the children..."": Aboriginal Australia, cultural access, and archival obligation', in L Barwick, J Green & P Vaarzon-Morel (ed.), Archival Returns: Central Australia and beyond, University of Hawaii Press, Hawai, pp. 173-191. |
| Croft, B, 2019, 'Blackwoman', in Cordite, 89: Domestic, (ed. Dr Natalie Harkin), 1 February, 2019, http://cordite.org.au/poetry/domestic/blackwoman/, accessed 3 December, 2020. |
| Croft, B 2018, ‘Missing’, in Absolute Humidity (Ed. Tess Maunder), Hardbound, First Edition. (A Hardworking Goodlooking Book. Printer: Tito Acquino Noscal, Manila City, Philippines). Attribution: Non-Commercial-NoDeriv (CC BY-NC-ND), pp 34 – 45. (Essay originally published in Shards: Nici Cumpston, Yhonnie Scarce and Judy Watson, exh. Cat. SASA Gallery, UniSA, 30 September – 24 October, 2008, curated by Mary Knights). |
| Croft, B 2018, 'Grounded (red, black, white)', triptych, exhibited in Genius loci, Canberra Glassworks, 5 April - 3 June; selected for Hindmarsh Prize, Fitters Workshop, Canberra Glassworks, 21 - 30 September; Toyama Glass Museum, Toyama, Japan, 26 October - 11 November. |
| Croft, B 2018, 'Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality', in Jacqueline Millner, Catriona Moore (eds.), Feminist Perspectives on Art : Contemporary Outtakes, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, UK, pp. 69-78. Best Indigenous Writing Award, AAANZ Annual Conference, 2018. |
| Croft, B 2018, 'The Instability of Truth: Aspects of Developing a Specific Indigenous Methodology on Experimental Practice-led Research', Visual Anthropology Review, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 15-26. |
| Croft, B 2017, 'home/lands', essay in Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality, (exh. cat.) UQ Art Museum, Brisbane, Qld, pp 19 - 31. |
| Croft, B 2017, 'Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality', practice-led doctoral research exhibition, UNSW Galleries, UNSW, 5 May - 29 July. Curator, participating artist. |
| Croft, B, 2017, 'shut/mouth/scream' (2016) (diptych), from the 'blood/type' series, exhibited in Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, 26 May - 10 September, 2017. |
| Croft, B 2016 - 2017, 'shut/mouth/scream', (diptych) from the 'blood/type' series. Pigment print on archival paper. Exhibited in solo exhibition 'subalter/N/ative dreams', Stills Gallery, Sydney, 27 July - 27 August, 2016; 'Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial', National Gallery of Australia, 26 May - 10 September, 2017, then national tour |
| Croft, B, 2016 - 2017, 'Wave Hill/Victoria River Country' (2016), 21 pigment prints on archival paper. Exhibited in ‘subalter/N/ative dreams’, Stills Gallery, Sydney, 27 July – 27 August, 2016; ‘Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial', National Gallery of Australia, 26 May - 10 September, 2017 |
| Croft., B, 2016 - 17, 'Self-portraits on country, 2014' (printed 2016), 13 pigment prints on archival paper. Exhibited in solo exhibition 'subalter/N/ative dreams', Stills Gallery, Sydney, 27 July - 27 August, 2016; ‘tell: Ballarat International Foto Biennial’, 19 August - 17 September, 2017 |
| Croft, B 2016, subalter/N/ative dreams - solo exhibition, Stills Gallery, Sydney, 27 July - 27 August. |
| Croft, B 2016, Retrac(k)ing country and (s)kin: walking the Wave Hill Walk Off Track (and other sites of cultural contestation), Westerly, Vol. 61, No. 1, pp. 76 - 82. |
| Croft, B 2015, 'Signs of the Times', in Rosie Scott, Anita Heiss (ed.), The Intervention: An anthology, Concerned Australians, Salisbury, South Australia, pp. 162 - 178. |
| Croft, B 2015, 'Say my name', in Celina Jeffery (ed.), The Artist as Curator, Intellect, Bristol, UK; University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA, pp. 115 - 130. https://issuu.com/tina9214/docs/celina_jeffery-the_artist_as_curator |
| Croft, B 2015, 'Still in My Mind: An Exploration of Practice-led Experimental Research in Progress', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. pp. 230-248. |
| Croft, B 2012, 'Revolutionize me (and you, and you, and you)' in Decolonize Me/Décolonisez Moi, (exh. cat.), Ottawa Art Gallery, Canada, pp 46 - 73. |
| Croft, B 2011, 'Sell-abrasion of our nations', lead essay, exhibition catalogue, 'Stop(the)gap: international Indigenous art in motion', Samstag Art Museum and Port Adelaide Mill, Adelaide International Art Festival, guest curator (with curatorial advisors Kathleen Ash-Milby (USA), David Garneau (Canada) and Megan Tamati-Quennell (Aotearoa/New Zealand), Feb - March, 2011 |
| Croft, B 2007, 'To be young (at heart), gifted and blak: the cultural and political renaissance of Indigenous art in Australia', in H. Perkins and M. West (ed.), One Sun, One Moon: Aboriginal Art in Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, pp. 285-292. |
| Croft, B 2007, 'Cannot buy my soul', in Deborah Clark, Susan Jenkins (ed.), Culture Warriors: National Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia, pp. x-xxvii. |
| Croft, B 2007, Culture Warriors: National Indigenous Art Triennial, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia. Inaugural curator. Established the National Indigenous Art Triennial during tenure as Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, NGA, (2002 - 09). |
| Croft, B 2006, 'Up in the sky, behind the clouds', in (ed.), Michael Riley: Sights Unseen, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia, pp. 17 - 43. |
| Croft, B 2006, Michael Riley: Sights Unseen, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia. Curator. |
| Croft, B 2006, 'Meeting, Not Colliding', Vision, Space, Desire: Global Perspectives and Cultural Hybridity, ed. Elizabeth Kennedy Gische, National Museum of the American Indian: Smithsonian Institute, USA, pp. 68-75. |
| Croft, B 2004, 'What about the dots and circles?! The children need them!', Banff Centre for Continuing Education Conference, ed. Lee-Ann Martin, The Banff International Curatorial Institute, in association with Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre, Canada, pp. 108 - 127. |
| Croft, B 2003, 'Textiles and Tactility', in Brenda L. Croft (ed.), Tactility: Two Centuries of Indigenous Objects, Textiles and Fibre, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, pp. 19-20. |
| Croft, B & Jenkins, S 2003, 'Cultural life-force: ceremonial and traditional practices', in Brenda L. Croft (ed.), Tactility: Two Centuries of Indigenous Objects, Textiles and Fibre, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, pp. 9-11. |
| Croft, B & Jenkins, S 2003, 'Representing the figurative', in Brenda L. Croft (ed.), Tactility: Two Centuries of Indigenous Objects, Textiles and Fibre, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, pp. 12-17. |
| Croft, B & Jenkins, S 2003, 'Tactility: Two Centuries of Indigenous Objects, Textiles and Fibre'. |
| Croft, B 2003, 'Ink to Inkjet', in (ed.), South West Central: Indigenous Art from south Western Australia 1833 - 2002, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA, pp. 21 - 35. |
| Croft, B 2003, South West Central: Indigenous Art from south Western Australia 1833 - 2002, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA. Curator. |
| Croft, B 2002, 'Laying ghosts to rest', in (ed.), Colonialist Photography: Imag(in)ing Race and Place., Routledge, London UK; New York, USA, pp. 20 - 29. Previously published in Portraits of Oceania, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1997. |
| Croft, B & O'Ferrall, M 2001, 'Indigenous art in the State Art Collection', in Indigenous Art: Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, pp. 7 - 13. |
| Croft, B 2001, 'Albert's Gift', in Brenda L. Croft (ed.), Indigenous Art: Art Gallery of Western Australia **, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, pp. 76-93. |
| Croft, B 2000, 'beyond the pale: empires built on the bones of the dispossessed', in (ed.), beyond the pale: empires built on the bones of the dispossessed, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, pp. 8 - 14. |
| Croft, B 2000, Beyond the pale: contemporary Indigenous art, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, for the Adelaide International Arts Festival, Australia. Curator. |
| Croft, B 1999, 'Boomalli: from little things big things grow', in Taylor, L. (ed.), Painting the Land Story, National Museum of Australia Press, Canberra, pp. 95-118 |
| Source | “Brenda Croft: Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair of Australian Studies”. Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://haa.fas.harvard.edu/people/brenda-croft. |
| “Professor Brenda L. Croft”. People, School of Art and Design, Australian National University. Mar 8, 2023. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://soad.cass.anu.edu.au/people/professor-brenda-l-croft. |
| “Professor Brenda L. Croft”. Researchers, Australian National University. July 21, 2024. Accessed July 12, 2024. https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/croft-b#publications. |
| Tunnicliffe, Wayne. “Tradition Today: Indigenous Art in Australia”. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2014. Found on “Brenda L. Croft”. Art Gallery NSW. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/croft-brenda-l/ |