Libby Harward
Libby Harward is a Ngugi woman whose art practice spans performance, installation and graffiti.
Libby Harward, a descendant of the Ngugi people of Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) in the Quandamooka, is an artist whose work deeply engages with decolonisation and connection to Country. Her practice seeks to break through the colonial overlays imposed on the cultural landscape, emphasising the ongoing and enduring presence of these landscapes. Libby describes her creative process as one of listening, calling out, knowing, and understanding Country, positioning her work within a broader political context that confronts colonial histories and their impacts.
With over 20 years of experience, Harward began her career as a community, street, and graffiti artist, but in the past seven years, she has shifted towards a more conceptual approach. Her work has garnered national and international attention, leading to significant exhibitions. Major recent projects include ALREADY OCCUPIED on Yugambeh Country (Gold Coast) and DABIL BUNG (Broken Water), created with First Nations communities along the Bidgee and Barka (Murray-Darling River system). These works embody a process of re-hearing, re-mapping, and re-contextualising cultural landscapes to decolonise them, using a blend of low and high-tech media, including sound, image, installation, and performance.
Harward’s solo exhibition ALREADY OCCUPIED was shown at the Redland Art Gallery in Queensland in 2019. Her group exhibitions include “Ngali Gabili” Seeds and Sovereignty, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane, 2024, MINYANG NYINDA YARINYA? MINYANG NYINDA YAGAY BA? #Budla (What Are You Saying? What Are You Doing?) at the Caboolture Regional Art Gallery in 2021, Bloodletting (water-ways) at the SOLID GOLD Exhibition at HOTA (Gold Coast), DABIL BUNG (Broken Water) at the 2020 BLEACH Festival, and “Ngali Ngariba” Garden of Earthly Delights, Gropius Bau, Berliner Festpiele, Berlin Germany, 2019. Her works have been featured in festivals and exhibitions across Australia, including Smoke Cloak at 4A Contemporary in Sydney and deadstream-DABIL BUNG (Broken Water) during Nextwave’s online iteration due to COVID-19.
Her works are held in a number of collections including the National Gallery of Australia, Redland Art Gallery, and Caboolture Art Gallery.
In addition to her art practice, Harward is the Director of Munimba-ja Culture Space in Maleny and a Co-Activator of The Blak Laundry, a collaborative space for celebrating Blak culture through conversation and art, established with Dominique Chen (Gamilaroi). The laundromat-exhibition space debuted at Munimba-ja in September 2023, with a second iteration at the Woodford Folk Festival in December 2023 and January 2024.
In this interview, Harward shares with the NAVA the importance of self-care while balancing her art practice and supporting other artists, and emphasises that being an artist is a serious, viable career filled with opportunities to express strong, political ideas.
Video production by Atypical 2024.
Photo by Sarah Osborn 2024.
ID: A photo of artist Libby Harward standing confidently in front of a colourful mural featuring flowing lines and symbols, beside her is a high-vis "$TOLEN" roadwork sign. Three orange traffic cones with the Aboriginal flag wrapped around them are placed in front.
