Dr. Ryan Presley (b. 1987) in Alice Springs. He currently lives and works in Brisbane, Australia.
Ryan Presley
His father’s family is Marri Ngarr and originate from the Moyle River region in the Northern Territory. His mother’s family were Scandinavian immigrants to Australia. Presley’s work has been included in Just Not Australian, Artspace (2019), Trade Markings (Frontier Imaginaries Ed No. 5), Van Abbemuseum, Netherlands (2018); the 33rd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Darwin; and the TarraWarra Biennial: Endless Circulation (both 2016). His work is held in public collections at the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Queensland Art Museum, Murdoch University, and the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (all in Australia). Presley completed a PhD at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, in 2016. His solo exhibition Ryan Presley: Prosperity was held at the Institute of Modern Art in 2018.
Academic Qualifications
- 2013 – 2016 Doctor of Philosophy with Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship
- 2009 – 2010 Bachelor of Fine Art with Honours – First Class Honours
- 2007 – 2009 Bachelor of Visual Arts – Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art
Employment
2017 – 2019
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Griffith University
2019
- Keynote Speaker, ‘Deathscapes: Mapping Race and Violence in Settler States’, Launch Symposium, The Settlement, Sydney, Australia
2017
- Adjunct Research Fellow at Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
2014
- Symposium Speaker, ‘DEBT’, Courting Blakness Symposium, UQ St. Lucia
2011 – 2013
- ITAS Tutor, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
2011 – 2019
- Board Member, ‘Eyeline Magazine’, Q.U.T.
2011
- Panel Speaker, ‘Art, Place and Identity’, Flying Arts Forum, SLQ
- I.A.P.P. Course Tutor, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
- Panel Speaker, ‘Colourise’, Brisbane International Film Festival, City Library
2008 – 2010
- Art Work-shop Facilitator, Youth Culture Nights, Musgrave Park Cultural Centre
- NAIDOC Art and Culture Workshops, Musgrave Hill Primary School
2007 – 2011
- Traditional Dancer, Songman & Didgeridoo player for Nunukul Kunjeil Dance Troupe
2006 – 2007
- Administration & Cultural Programs Assistant, Musgrave Park Cultural Centre
2005 – 2006
- Indigenous Projects Intern, Exhibitions Department, Queensland Art Gallery
Selected Award Exhibitions
2021
- ’John Fries Award’, UNSW Galleries, Sydney
2020
- ‘Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award’, MAGNT, Darwin
2019
- ’15 Artists’, Redcliffe Art Gallery, Moreton Bay, Queensland (Winner)
2016
- ‘Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award’, MAGNT, Darwin
2013
- ‘National Artists’ Self Portrait Prize’, UQ Art Museum, Brisbane
2012
- ‘The Churchie: National Emerging Art Competition’, Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane
2012
- ‘Westpac Redlands Art Prize’, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, New South Wales
2011
- ‘Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award’, Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia
- ‘HATCHED: National Graduate Show’, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art
2010
- ‘The Graduate Art Show & Awards’, G. U. Art Museum, Brisbane, Brisbane (Winner)
- 'The Churchie: National Emerging Art Competition’, Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane
2009
- ‘The Graduate Art Show & Awards’, G. U. Art Museum, Brisbane (Commendation)
- ‘2009 Silk Cut Award’, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
- ‘Eracism: 2009 Youth Multimedia Competition’, Y.A.N.Q., West End – (Winner)
Solo Exhibitions
2019
- ‘Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal’, Tarnanthi Festival, Presented by AGSA
- ‘Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal’, Sydney Festival, Presented by MCA
2018
- ‘Prosperity’, Project Rooms, Melbourne Art Week, Presented by IMA
- ‘For What It’s Worth (Not For Sale)’, Tweed Regional Art Gallery, New South Wales
- ‘Prosperity’, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Queensland
2017
- ‘Terror Island (Wish You Were Here)’, Boxcopy Contemporary Art Space, Brisbane
2016
- ‘Themesong’, Webb Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane, Queensland
2014
- ‘Lesser Gods’, Metro Arts, Brisbane, Queensland
- ‘Lesser Gods’, Next Wave Festival, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
- ‘Lesser Gods’, Human Rights and Art and Film Festival, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne
2012
- ‘The Good Earth’, Jan Manton Art, Brisbane
2011
- ‘Blood Money’, Jan Manton Art, Brisbane
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021
- 'We Change the World', National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2021
- 'Hungry for Time: An invitation to epistemic disobedience with Raqs Media Collective, in the Art Collections of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna', Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, 2021.
- ‘No Place Like Home’, MONA FOMA Festival, Launceston & Hobart, MONA
2020
- ’First’, Redcliffe Art Gallery, Moreton Bay, Queensland
2019
- ‘Tarnanthi Festival 2019’, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
- ‘No Black Seas’, Tarnanthi Festival 2019, ACE Open, Adelaide (Mentor Artist)
- ‘Stopping Time: Material Prints 3000BCE to Now’, Gympie Regional Gallery (Touring)
- ‘In Put/Print Out: Cicada Press Prints’, Megalo Print Studio + Gallery, Canberra
- ‘Collection Spotlight: Blood Money’, Reserve Bank Museum, Reserve Bank Australia
- ‘QUEEN’S LAND: Black portraiture’, Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns, Australia (Commissioned)
- ‘Land & Labour Thematic’, Australian Art Collection, Queensland Art Gallery, Australia
- ‘Just Not Australian’, Artspace, Sydney, Australia
2018
- ‘Primavera: Young Australian Artists’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia
- ‘Lucky?’, Bundoora Homestead Art Centre, Victoria, Australia
- ‘Trademarkings (Frontier Imaginaries Ed. No. 5)’, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands
2017
- ‘The Standard Length of a Miracle’, by Goldin+Senneby, Institute of Modern Art (Collaborator)
- ‘Toxic Assets (Frontier Imaginaries Ed. No. 4)’, e-flux, New York, USA
2016
- ‘New World Order’, Casula Powerhouse, Sydney, New South Wales
- ‘International Academic Printmaking Alliance Exhibit’, Taimiao Art Gallery, Tiananmen, China
- ‘Jerusalem Show VIII’, Al-Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, Jerusalem, Palestine
- ‘TarraWarra Biennial: Endless Circulation’, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria
- ‘Creative Accounting’, UQ Art Museum, (Toured Nationally)
- ‘Frontier Imaginaries: No Longer at Ease’, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane
- ‘100% Brisbane’, Museum of Brisbane (Commissioned)
2015
- ‘Post-Hybrid: Re-imagining the Australian Self’, John Curtin Gallery, Perth
- ‘Out of Queensland: New Indigenous Textiles’, Cairns Regional Art Gallery
- ‘Mirror Image: prints and plates’, Gympie Regional Art Gallery, Queensland
- ‘Body Politic’, Icebox Project Space, Crane Arts, Philadelphia USA
- ‘Saltwater Country’, AAMU: Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Netherlands
- ‘Saltwater Country’, Australian Embassy, Washington D.C., USA
2014
- ‘Saltwater Country’, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Australia (Toured Nationally)
- ‘SOLID! Contemporary Queensland Indigenous Sculpture’, Cairns Regional Art Gallery
- ‘Kyoto Hanga 2014’, Fukuyama Art Museum, Fukuyama, Japan
- ‘Kyoto Hanga 2014’, Kyoto Municipal Art Museum, Kyoto, Japan
- ‘Conflict: Contemporary Responses to War’, UQ Art Museum, Queensland
- ‘Courting Blakness’, University of Queensland, St. Lucia
2013
- ‘Point to Points: Brisbane to Tokyo Exchange’, POP Gallery, South Brisbane
2012
- ‘In the red; on the vibrancy of things’, UQ Anthropology Museum, Brisbane
- ‘PICA Salon’, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Western Australia
- ‘Picture This’, Counihan Gallery, Brunswick, Melbourne, Victoria
- ‘MoNow: Manifestations of Now’, No Vacancy Gallery, Melbourne
- ‘Animal/Human’, UQ Art Museum, Brisbane, Queensland
- ‘NEW: Selected Recent Acquisitions’, UQ Art Museum, Queensland
Residency
2018
- ‘Artist in Residence Program’, Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre, NSW
2015
- ‘Cicada Press: Indigenous Residency Program’, Cicada Press, CoFA, Sydney
Selected Publications as Artist
- Hart, Dr. S., 2020, ‘The Painter that watches the Watchmen’, Art Guide, Vol. 128, Nov-Dec 2020, pp. 66 – 71.
- Knox, C., 2019, ‘Australian artist creates 'Blood Money' currency to highlight history of Indigenous dispossession’, ABC Arts, https://www.abc.net.au/news/20..., Last modified November 9th 2019, 5.18am.
- McDonald, J., 2019, ‘Tarnanthi 2019 shows deep wells of Indigenous creativity’, Sydney Morning Herald, https://www.smh.com.au/culture..., Last modified October 25th 2019, 4.00pm.
- Ayres, E. & Ellen, R., 2019, ‘Learning about ‘guturru’ at Tarnanthi festival’, The Art Show, Radio National, https://www.abc.net.au/radiona...
- Skujins, A., 2019, ‘Tarnanthi artist invites an exchange of 'blood money'’ INDAILY, https://indaily.com.au/arts-an..., Last modified on Mon 16 Sept 2019
- Convery, S., 2019, ‘Look again: the artist reinventing Australian money for postcolonial payback’ The Gaurdian, https://www.theguardian.com/ar..., Last modified on Thu 24 Jan 2019 16.14 AEDT
- Beck, N., 2019, ‘Blood Money Currency Exchange Terminal’, 2ser 107.3 ‘So Hot Right Now’ (radio program), https://2ser.com/blood-money-c..., Aired 26th January 2019.
- Martin-Chew, L., 2019, ‘Cool Hunter : Ryan Presley’ Art Collector’, Art Collector, Vol. 86, Jan-Mar 2019, pp. 65 – 67.
- Heartney, E. 2018, 'History Wars', Art in America, October, https://www.artinamericamagazi...
- Wlazlo, D., 2018, ‘Melbourne Art Fair’, MEMO Review, https://memoreview.net/blog/me...
- Que, C., 2018, ‘Melbourne Art Fair : ‘finding its political and global footing’, Ocula, Ocula Report 9th August, https://ocula.com/magazine/rep...
- Maunder, T., 2018, ‘Blood Money: Ryan Presley and Tess Maunder In Conversation’, Art + Australia Online, http://www.artandaustralia.com/online/discussions/blood-money-ryan-presley-and-tess-maunder-conversation.
- Moulton, K., 2018, ‘Prosperity’, un Projects Reviews, http://unprojects.org.au/un-ex...
- Ed. King, M., 2018, Ryan Presley : Prosperity, IMA Publications, Fortitude Valley
- Waterbright, S., 2018, ‘Ryan Presley: Terror Island (Wish You Were Here)’, eyeline magazine, issue 89, pg. 92, https://www.eyelinepublishing....
- Browning, D., 2018, ‘White saviours, black demons: Christianity and colonialism’ AWAYE! Radio National, https://www.abc.net.au/radiona...,-black-demons:-the-nexus-between-christianity-an/9626498
- Presley, R., 2018, ‘Prosperity’, Art Monthly Australasia, No. 306, April, pp. 52 – 62.
- Sciarone, N., 2018, ‘Trade Markings at Van Abbe – Contextualizing trade and it’s present traces’, Metropolis M, Issue no. 6, Dec-Jan 20181, https://www.metropolism.com/en...
- Laird, T. 2016, ‘Endless Circulation’ Tarrawarra Biennial 2016, Art Agenda Reviews, https://www.art-agenda.com/fea..., Last modified Sept 9th 2016.
- Ed. Foley, F., Nicoll, F. & Martin-Chew, L. 2015, Courting Blakness, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia
- Buttrose, E., 2015, ‘To the fore: The growing legacy of QCA's bachelor of contemporary Australian indigenous art’, Art Monthly Australia, No. 279, May, pp. 52 – 55
- Baxter, V., 2014, ‘Blak Wave Rising’, Real Time Arts, issue #120 April-May 2014 pg. 34 – 36, http://www.realtimearts.net/ar...
- Browning, D., 2013, ‘New Currency: Ryan Presley’ Artlink: Indigenous re-visions, vol.33, pp. 98 – 101.
- Browning, D., 2013, ‘The colour of money: Ryan Presley’ AWAYE! Radio National, http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/the-colour-of-money3a-ryan-presley/4730184.
- Daw, R., 2012, ‘Animal/Human’ Artlink: Experiment, vol.32:3, pp. 110 – 1113, https://www.artlink.com.au/art...
- Taylor, A., 2012, ‘Artwork has real currency’, Sydney Morning Herald, https://www.smh.com.au/enterta...
- Wills, G., 2011, ‘Preview: Ryan Presley’, Artist Profile, Issue 16 2011, pg. 138 – 139
- McDermott, D., 2011, ‘ARTBREAK: ArtStart – Ryan Presley’, SBS STVDIO, television interview, videorecording
- Scollay, R., 2011, ‘Artist features people of note’, Koori Mail, Edition 510, Wednesday 21st September, pg. 82
- Radok, S., 2011 (ed.), ‘Emerging Talent’, Artlink Indigenous: Beauty and Terror, vol.31, no. 2, pg. 13
Collections
- Anglican Church Grammar School Art Collection, Brisbane
- Art Gallery of South Australia
- Art Gallery of Western Australia
- Banyule Art Collection, Melbourne
- Cairns Art Gallery, Cairns
- Gadens Lawyers Art Collection, Brisbane
- Griffith Artworks, Griffith University, Brisbane
- Moreton Bay Regional Council Art Collection
- Murdoch University Art Collection, Perth
- Museum of Brisbane
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia
- National Gallery of Victoria
- Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
- Reserve Bank of Australia
- Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre
- University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane
- University of Queensland Anthropology Museum, Brisbane
Selected Publications as Writer
- Presley, R. 2019, ‘Beacons of Hope’, Artlines Magazine, QAGOMA Publications, pp. 16 – 24
- Presley, R. 2018, ‘Spirit Trade’ in Ryan Presley : Prosperity, IMA Publications, pp. 73 – 93
- Presley, R. 2018, ‘Prosperity’, Art Monthly Australasia, No. 306, April, pp. 52 – 62
- Presley, R. 2017, ‘Judy Watson’, in 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial 2017: DEFYING EMPIRE, National Gallery of Australia Press: Canberra.
- Presley, R. 2017, ‘Fiona Foley’, in 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial 2017: DEFYING EMPIRE, National Gallery of Australia Press: Canberra.
- Presley, R. 2017, ‘Reko Rennie’, in 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial 2017: DEFYING EMPIRE, National Gallery of Australia Press: Canberra.
- Presley, R. 2016, ‘They say good fences make good neighbours’, in Over the FenceContemporary Indigenous Photography from the Corrigan Collection, University of Queensland Press: St Lucia.
- Presley, R. 2015, ‘DEBT’, in Courting Blakness: Recalibrating Knowledge in the Sandstone University, University of Queensland Press: St Lucia, pp. 136 – 141
