Hetti Perkins facts for kids

Hetti Kemerre Perkins, born in 1965, is an Aboriginal Australian art expert and writer. She is well-known for her work at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. There, she was the main curator for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art from about 1998 until 2011. She also helped create many important art shows and projects.

Hetti Perkins' Early Life and Family

Hetti Kemerre Perkins is an Eastern Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman. Her family comes from Central Australia. She was born in 1965. Her father was Charles Perkins, a famous Aboriginal Australian activist. Her mother was Eileen Munchenberg.

Hetti is the granddaughter of Hetty Perkins. Her sister is the film director Rachel Perkins. Her brother is Adam Perkins. Hetti's mother had an art gallery in their home's garage in Canberra. This gallery showed Aboriginal art. Hetti was also inspired by her father's work for Indigenous rights. She even attended the start of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972.

Hetti went to Melrose High School in Canberra with her sister. She finished her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986.

Hetti Perkins' Career in Art

Hetti Perkins started her career at Aboriginal Arts Australia. This was an art gallery in Sydney. She worked with independent Aboriginal artists. She also worked with art centers in faraway areas. In 1988, she traveled to New York. This was for an art show called Dreamings: Art of Aboriginal Australia.

Working at Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative

After that, Hetti became a curator at the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Cooperative in Sydney. She helped make the gallery bigger. She also helped it become more famous. Under her leadership, Boomalli held many art shows. These shows were in Sydney and other countries. They featured artists from the cooperative and other New South Wales artists.

Time at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Hetti worked at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) in Sydney starting in 1989. She became the main curator for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art around 1998. She stayed in this role until 2011. During her time there, she led many big art shows and projects.

Perkins helped create the Yiribana Gallery at AGNSW. This gallery opened in 1994. In 1991, she organized the Aboriginal Womens Exhibition. This show traveled all over Australia. In 1997, she helped choose the Australian art for the 1997 Venice Biennale. This important art event featured works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Yvonne Koolmatrie, and Judy Watson.

In 2010, she advised on "Eora Journey". This was a public art program for Indigenous art in the City of Sydney.

art + soul Project

Also in 2010, Hetti Perkins led a project called art + soul: a journey into the world of Aboriginal art. This project included a major art show at AGNSW. It also had a book and a three-part TV show. The TV show was made by ABC Television. It was shown in October 2010. Later, it was shown in Sweden as "Aborginernas konst".

Recent Curatorial Work

Hetti Perkins was the curator for the National Portrait Gallery's fourth National Indigenous Art Triennial. This show was called Ceremony. It ran from March 26 to July 31, 2022.

As of 2022, Hetti Perkins is a "senior curator-at-large" for the National Portrait Gallery.

In September 2022, she helped organize the 31st Desert Mob exhibition. This show was held by Desart in Mparntwe Alice Springs. She worked with Marisa Maher, who is an assistant manager at the art center. This was the first time two Aboriginal women had curated this exhibition.

Other Important Activities

Hetti Perkins was part of the group that chose artists for the Biennale of Sydney in 2000.

She also helped produce four TV series called Colour Theory. These were for SBS/NITV. She also helped organize the Australian Indigenous Art Commission. This was at the Musee du quai Branly in Paris, France.

Perkins has been a board member for several groups. These include the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council. She also served on the boards of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. She has worked with government groups and community art groups. Her work helps support and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts.

Awards and Recognition

• 2011: She was an Artist-in-residence for Bangarra Dance Theatre.
• 2018: She received an Australia Council Fellowship at the National Indigenous Arts Awards.

Hetti Perkins' Personal Life

Hetti Perkins is the mother of actress and activist Madeleine Madden.

See also

In Spanish: Hetti Perkins para niños