Arts workshop for young people: Our Perfect New World Project with Darren Blackman

A Gureng Gureng/ Gangalu man, Darren grew up in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, where he studied art at High School before finishing a plumbing trade. He left the region to work in Western Queensland, Cape York, and the Torres Strait. From those years working in communities, Blackman’s observations of First Nations struggles to retain culture and autonomy would inform his arts practice of the institutionalised oppression imposed on Indigenous people.  

Settling in Cairns, Blackman took the opportunity to complete a Diploma of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Cultural Arts, at the renowned Cairns Tafe arts studio which was responsible for the Far North Qld cultural arts movement producing many acclaimed Indigenous artists. On completion of the Diploma, he attained a Trainer and Assessor Certificate allowing him to work as a trainer and studio facilitator throughout Cape York, refining his own skills in multiple disciplines. 

Predominantly a printmaker, Blackman’s practice as a cultural artist, is of stories from his own clan documenting a post-colonial history. Darren is currently studying his bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Indigenous Australian Art at Griffith Queensland College of Art.