Behind every work of art is a story, and we love to support Australian artists and share their stories with our artist community. Emakie Roberts is an extraordinary talent. Her artwork was selected as the winning submission in her region for the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) statewide competition, First Nations Youth Art Prize.
The competition asked for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student in Years 7 to 12 to produce an artwork that captures something about the way Aboriginal people live in, use and care for the places they live, and reflect traditional and modern song lines, travel, mobility and housing.
“My painting represents the connectedness of the spiritual world and kinship links with the living world,” explains Emakie, who is in Year 8 at high school.
Emakie’s story is close to our hearts. She is supported by the Mirabel Foundation, who assists children who are now in the care of extended family (kinship care). Emakie lives with her Grandmother, Katherine, and uses her unique artistic talent to explore the relationship between her ancestors and kin connections on earth.
“This demonstrates my movement amongst kin and my links to kin in the ancestral world,” Emakie writes about her painting.
Micador has been involved with the Mirabel Foundation for over 20 years, donating products to the children supported by the foundation. The products are used in grief therapy, where children who may not necessarily be able to talk about what had happened, can draw it and then talk about their drawings. Art is used as a way for children to express themselves and it’s important for them to have a creative outlet to tell their story or to convey their feelings.
“Mirabel is so focused on giving these kids hope and building these communities and relationships and that’s really important to us too,” says Owner and Managing Director of Micador, Ben Dortimer.
Being able to support Emakie on her artistic path is such an incredible part of what we do at Micador, and we are humbled to be able to share her artwork, story and award.
The winning artworks across the State, including Emakie’s, will be used as a representation of their community in the final report, and as part of the report that talks to their local community.
We look forward to following Emakie’s journey and supporting her in her artistic endeavours in the future.
Learn more about Mirabel’s incredible work at mirabelfoundation.org.au and follow them on Instagram @mirabelfoundation
