Billy Doolan facts for kids

Frederick William Doolan Jnr (born 1952), also known as Billy Doo, is an amazing Indigenous Australian artist. He is known for his vibrant paintings. Billy Doo lives in Townsville, Queensland, but he often creates his art in Melbourne, Victoria.

His artwork has been shown in many important exhibitions around the world. One big show was "Between Sky and Sea" in Melbourne. Another huge exhibition, "Dreamtime Lo Spirito Dell'Arte Aborigena," traveled to Italy. This Italian show was very popular, with 25,000 visitors. About 2,000 students also attended classes there to learn about Aboriginal art and culture. Billy Doo was a major artist in this exhibition, with 22 of his pieces on display.

Early Life and Family History

Billy Doolan was born in 1952 on Palm Island, Queensland. This island was once a special settlement for Aboriginal people. It is now one of Australia's largest Indigenous communities. Billy's family belongs to the Bwgcolman language group. His mother's family came from near the Gulf of Carpentaria, and his father's family was from Central Queensland.

When Billy was young, his family had to leave Palm Island. This happened because his father, Frederick William, was a leader in a workers' protest in 1957. The family then moved to Townsville on the mainland, settling in an area called Happy Valley.

Billy Doolan's Art Career

Billy Doolan's paintings are often made with synthetic polymer on linen. His art has been featured in several important exhibitions.

Showcasing Aboriginal Art

In 2001, his works were part of an exhibition called "Gatherings." This show displayed modern Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art from Queensland. It was held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. A book about the exhibition, also called "Gatherings," featured Billy's art.

His work was again shown in "Gatherings II" at the Queensland Art Gallery in 2006. This exhibition also had a book released alongside it.

Awards and International Recognition

In 2009, Billy Doolan was a finalist in the Victorian Aboriginal Art Awards in Melbourne. This showed his growing recognition as an artist.

His art gained even more attention with the "Dreamtime Lo Spirito Dell'Arte Aborigena" exhibition in Italy. This large traveling show featured 22 of Billy's paintings. It was a huge success, bringing Australian Indigenous art to a wide international audience.

Billy also had his first big solo exhibition, "Between Sea and Sky: Songs of a Voyage," in Melbourne in 2010. For this show, he created unique paintings inspired by a trip to Sicily in 2009. He worked hard to show Sicilian history and life in a respectful way.

Global Art and Cultural Exchange

The "Between Sea and Sky" exhibition later toured four cities in Sicily in 2012. Billy's art helped connect different cultures. One of his paintings in this show was of Mount Etna, a famous volcano. This image, along with a statement from Billy, helped Mount Etna get listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.

A didgeridoo painted by Billy Doolan was even given to the UNESCO office in Rome. It is now part of their collection and can be seen by the public.

In 2014, Billy was invited to be an artist-in-residence in Hong Kong. During his visit, he participated in many activities:

• He joined UNESCO's International Arts Education Week.
• He gave talks to students and academics about art, heritage, and Indigenous culture.
• He led workshops on his painting style.
• He exchanged ideas with artists and educators in Hong Kong.

He also created nine paintings that showed his impressions of Hong Kong. These works aimed to blend Chinese and Aboriginal cultures. Billy has a Chinese background through his great-grandfather, Sam Wing, who came to Australia in the late 1800s.

Billy Doolan also worked with artist Amanda Feher to create two metal sculptures. These sculptures, called "Canoe People" and "Gabul Creation Story," are displayed at the Jezzine Barracks in Townsville.

His journey to Hong Kong was even featured in a thirty-minute film by Creative Cowboy Films. In May 2014, Billy revealed the first two paintings from his Hong Kong series: "Nine Dragons of Kowloon" and "Cranes."

Billy Doolan's work has also been featured in magazines. Essentials Magazine published an article about him in 2011, showing three of his paintings that were touring Italy. Italianicious Magazine also featured his work in an article about his "Impressions of Sicily" exhibition.

See also

• Art of Australia