ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – Lua Pellegrini

“I am a young Wiradjuri Woman who grew up on Darug Country in Western Sydney. I am currently studying at the University of NSW completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts/Arts Majoring in Indigenous Studies. For most of my life I have had a love for visual arts, however, my passion for Aboriginal Art only began after spending time with my local community elders Uncle Greg Simms and Uncle Wes Marne during high school. 

In 2019, I graduated from Loreto Normanhurst with my HSC major work, ‘Our Past, Her Future’, being featured on the cover of the 2020 Catholic Schools Guide and later showcased at the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery. That same year, I was humbled to be asked to exhibit my work on the Reconciliation Wall at NSW Parliament House beginning my exhibition Our Past, Our Future in NAIDOC Week 2020 and continuing to have it exhibited till March of 2021. 

I am extremely passionate about Indigenous education and have been a student volunteer at Redfern Jarjum College since 2016. I was also honoured to receive the NESA Chairperson Award for the Highest performing Aboriginal Student in HSC Aboriginal Studies for 2019. Since then, I have continued to aim to have a positive impact on the lives of other Indigenous youth through my work as a member of the NSW Health Literacy Advisory Council and as the Chairperson of the NSW Youth Advisory Council and am excited to continue my passion for Indigenous art and education through my new role as the Catholic Schools Guide Artist in Residence.”