Ilka White facts for kids

Ilka Jane White is an Australian artist who creates amazing artworks. She works with many different materials like textiles (fabric art), drawings, sculptures, and art installations (art that fills a space). Ilka also enjoys working with communities and other artists. A big part of her art comes from being close to nature. Right now, her art often looks at how our minds, bodies, time, and the places we live are all connected.

About Ilka White

Growing up and learning

Ilka White was born in Ivanhoe, Melbourne. She grew up in a country town called Maryborough, in Victoria, Australia. Her family home was always full of musicians, artists, and creative people.

When she was older, Ilka first studied fashion design. She wanted to create costumes for plays and shows in the theatre. After working with costumes for a few years, she decided to learn more about weaving.

Studying art and textiles

Ilka earned a special diploma in Studio Textiles from the Melbourne Institute of Textiles. This school is now part of RMIT University. Later, in 2008, she finished her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Tapestry at Monash University in Melbourne.

Ilka also shared her knowledge with others. From 1999 to 2011, she taught art and textiles at RMIT. In 2012, she was a teaching artist at the Australian National University School of Art.

Art exhibitions

Ilka White has shown her artwork in many exhibitions across Australia. These shows help people see her unique textile art, drawings, and sculptures. Here are some of the places her art has been displayed:

• Whitework: A Contemporary Trousseau, Craft Victoria Gallery, Melbourne, Australia, April 2004
• In the World: (head, hand, heart), 17th Tamworth Fibre Textile Biennial, National tour, Australia, 2006
• WALK, Portland Arts Centre, Portland, Victoria and National Tour, Australia, 2006-2009
• Drawing Out, First Site Gallery, RMIT and Big Screen, Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia, 2010
• Life in Your Hands: (Art from Solastalgia), Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, National Tour, Australia, 2012
• Material Culture', Counihan Gallery, Brunswick, Australia, 2012
• Petite: Miniature Textiles, Exhibitions Gallery, Wangaratta, Australia, 2012
• Spinifex Country, Flinders University City Gallery, Adelaide, Australia, 2013
• TIME, Poimena Art Gallery, Launceston, Australia, 2013
• Contemporary Textiles, Exhibitions Gallery, Wangaratta, Australia, 2013
• GhostNets Fish, Martin Browne Contemporary, Paddington, Australia, 2014
• Partnership, Lot19, Castlemaine, Australia, 2014
• Artists for the Tarkine, Brightspace, St Kilda, Australia, 2014
• Walking the Merri, RMIT Project Space, Carlton, Australia, 2014
• Group Exchange, 2nd Tamworth Fibre Textile Triennial, National tour 2014-2016

See also

Australian art