2026 Cultural Creative Development Program Inductee
Ella Muir
I am a proud Wakka Wakka woman with Quandamooka and Yuggera relations. I grew up in North Queensland, I still (sometimes) miss the heat, but I definitely miss the beautiful country up north. I have grown up around gyms my whole life with both my parent’s owning gyms and sports federations, they have been my mentors in becoming a both mentally and physically strong aboriginal woman.
Outside of art, I love to fight. Although boxing seems contradicting put besides painting, the sport builds my mental that aligns with my expression in my pieces, that is if it does not give me CTE. Emotional maturity and awareness are captured in my works and me throwing hands has a big role in shaping that.
I have always loved paining; my earliest memory of art is me and my siblings sitting around a backyard table with mob and family around us learning from Laurie Nilsen how to paint. He taught me cultural storytelling and the power of connection that art creates. He was a very smart man, the impact his art has on the world though expression guides me within my journey of art.
My works include cultural hyper realism as well as cultural abstract pieces. I have attempted to categorise my style, but I have a hard time fitting it into one theme. My art holds a story of my mob, our country, our stories, but also my journey and identity as a young Aboriginal woman in the past, present and our future. I am adaptive by nature, (although in my youth I was very stubborn) and my art reflects that, each piece is built on unique deep cultural learning and reflection.
