Kayannie Denigan is full of surprises. Not only is she a public servant and a SRW Pat Turner scholar, she is also a talented artist.

One of our Pat Turner scholars, Kayannie Denigan, is an emerging artist, and her work is currently on display in the Heart Strong exhibition at the Belconnen Arts Centre, opening this Friday 9 July in NAIDOC Week and running until Sunday 15 August.

Kayannie (pronounced Kai-arnie) Denigan is a SRW Pat Turner scholar from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications who is studying a Master of Public Policy at ANU.

She is also a talented emerging artist with an impressive record of installations and exhibitions. A Luritja artist, her painting style was passed down from her grandmothers and combines the iconic dots of the central desert style with the colours and stories of her Cape York upbringing.

Kayannie’s artworks will be exhibited as part of NAIDOC Week 2021, alongside five other Aboriginal women all currently living on Ngunnawal Country:

“These artists have been selected for the strength of their practice and while their styles of working are diverse, they have much in common as young Aboriginal women who provide strength to their families, their communities and their culture through their art.” said Monika McInerny Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Belco Arts.

In 2020 Kayannie’s large scale installation ‘My Country’ was displayed on the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin as part of ‘Graphic Intervention’– the DESIGN Canberra project which transforms the city every November.

She was interviewed on ABC Radio Canberra’s Drive program by Anna Vidot about this installation.

 “As I flew over the land of my ancestors I was struck by the beauty of the harsh desert. It was the first time I had been back to Central Australia since I was a child…Peering out the plane window, the delineation of the shrubs, grasses, rocks and sand dunes was stark and stunning. Upon returning home I set out to incorporate these separate elements in my art. I was determined to find a way to show these elements are connected – all part of Australia’s beauty – but also separate, beautiful elements on their own.”

It represents my connection to both the Luritja deserts of my Nanna and the Kuku Yalanji beaches and rainforests of my Nanny.

A talented academic, Kayannie has already completed a Graduate Certificate in Aboriginal Studies (University of South Australia) and Politics and Policy (Deakin University), an Advanced Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History, and a Master of Arts (History) (both from the University of New England). Kayannie is interested in supporting and encouraging Indigenous women to consider executive roles across Indigenous-specific portfolios and the broader APS.

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