Kevin Gilbert (author) facts for kids

Kevin John Gilbert (10 July 1933 – 1 April 1993) was an Aboriginal Australian writer, activist, artist, poet, playwright, and printmaker. He was a proud Wiradjuri man. Kevin Gilbert was born near the Lachlan River in New South Wales. He was the first Aboriginal playwright and printmaker. He worked hard to protect human rights for Aboriginal people. He helped start the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972. He also took part in many protests to support Aboriginal Australian sovereignty.

Gilbert won the 1978 National Book Council prize for writers. He received it for his book Living Black: Blacks Talk to Kevin Gilbert (1977).

Early Life

Kevin Gilbert was born on 10 July 1933. He was the youngest of eight children. His mother was Wiradjuri and his father was Irish/English. He was born by the Kalara/Lachlan River near Condobolin, New South Wales. When he was seven, he and his siblings became orphans. His older sisters and other family members raised him. They lived on an Aboriginal reserve. He left school at age thirteen. After that, he worked many different short-term jobs.

His books Me and Mary Kangaroo and Child’s Dreaming show his close connection to his mother's Wiradjuri country. His family often traveled for fruit-picking. This gave them a break from hardship. It also gave them some freedom from difficult situations.

Later in his life, he spent time in prison. While there, he used the time to educate himself. He also developed his amazing artistic talents. He was released after 14 years.

Art

While in prison, Kevin Gilbert created the first lino prints by an Aboriginal artist. These were his first steps into creative art. He made his own tools from spoons, forks, and nails. He carved old lino from the prison floor. He made images by rubbing paper over his lino cuts.

After he was released around 1971, Gilbert opened the Kalari Aboriginal Art Gallery. It was located near Taree, NSW.

His artworks have been shown in many places. These include Havana, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Boston, Portland, Oregon, Durban, London, and Athens. His unique art style is part of the National Gallery of Australia collection. It is also in other major Australian art museums.

Writing Career

The Cherry Pickers

Kevin Gilbert also started writing while in prison. In 1968, he began writing the play The Cherry Pickers. The play was secretly taken out of prison on toilet paper. It was first read aloud at the Mews Theatre in Sydney. Bob Maza and other Aboriginal actors read the parts. This play was very important. It was the first play written in English by an Aboriginal person. It was also the first play performed completely by an Aboriginal cast.

A critic named Katharine Brisbane saw an early reading. She felt honored to see the private life of a people. Their privacy had been kept hidden from white eyes for a long time. More readings were held in Sydney in 1970 and 1971. The play was nominated for the Captain Cook Memorial Award in 1970.

Melbourne's Nindethana Theatre Group performed the play fully in 1971. It was also performed in Redfern, Sydney, in 1972. But the play was not published until 1988. This was during protests against the Bicentenary of Australia. The play became a symbol of Aboriginal protest. Gilbert's play tells stories of traveling workers. It explores "spiritual searching and loss," as Gilbert wrote in 1969. It shows his people pushed into difficult situations. The play mixes traditional creation myths, rituals, and humor. Through humor, Gilbert explores serious cultural issues. Gilbert also showed his artwork at the Arts Council Gallery in Sydney in 1970.

Other Writing

In 1973, he wrote Because a White Man'll Never Do It.

In 1972, another play by Gilbert, The Gods Look Down, was shown. It was performed at the Wayside Theatre in Sydney. Gilbert described it as an "emotional fantasy." It used scenes about losing spiritual connection and identity. Many of his other plays were never staged. These include Ghosts in Cell Ten and The Blush of Birds. His style in these plays was ahead of its time. It was similar to later First Nations writers like Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman.

In 1978, the National Book Council gave him its annual book award. This was for his book Living Black: Blacks Talk to Kevin Gilbert. The book included interviews with many Black people. One was the musician and dancer Robert Jabanungga.

In 1988, he received the Human Rights Award for Literature. This was for editing the poetry book Inside Black Australia. However, he returned the award. He did this to protest the unfair treatment of his people. Gilbert kept writing and showing his artwork.

Activism

Around 1971, Gilbert started the National Aboriginal Theatre Foundation. It did not last long. A journal called Alchuringa was published. It encouraged Aboriginal people to protest. This journal was known for its strong political message.

From 1972 onwards, Gilbert worked for many Aboriginal human rights causes. He was very important in helping to set up the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. This was located at the Old Parliament House, Canberra in Canberra.

Gilbert wrote a foreword for the magazine Identity in 1972. In 1975, he wrote an article about Indigenous land rights.

In 1979, he led the "National Aboriginal Government" protest. This happened on Capital Hill, Canberra. He called for Australian Aboriginal Sovereignty to be accepted.

He became the leader of the "Treaty '88" campaign. This campaign wanted a sovereign treaty between Aboriginal nations and non-Aboriginal Australians. He explained the legal reasons for a treaty in his 1987 book Aboriginal Sovereignty, Justice, the Law and Land.

In 1992, his last year of life, he helped re-establish the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. It became a permanent symbol after its 20th anniversary. It is still a key part of the Sovereignty Movement today. He was known for using the term "Black" to describe Aboriginal people.

Before Australia's bicentenary celebrations, Gilbert led the "Treaty '88" campaign. This campaign aimed for a treaty that would protect Aboriginal rights and sovereignty.

Recognition and Awards

• 1970: The Cherry Pickers was nominated for a Captain Cook Memorial Award.
• 1972: He received a Commonwealth literary fellowship.
• 1978: He won the National Book Council prize for writers. This was for Living Black: Blacks Talk to Kevin Gilbert.
• 1988: He was awarded the Human Rights Award for Literature. This was for editing the poetry book Inside Black Australia. But he refused the award to highlight ongoing injustices.
• 1992: He received the Prime Minister's four-year Creative Fellowship. This was for his "outstanding artistic contribution to the nation."

Posthumously (after his death)

• 1995: He won the Kate Challis RAKA Award for poetry, for Black from the Edge.
• 1995: Black from the Edge was highly praised for the ACT Book of the Year.
• 1995: Me and Mary Kangaroo was shortlisted for the Australian Multicultural Children's Literature Awards.

Gilbert is featured in an episode of the 2013 TV series Desperate Measures. His daughter, poet Kerry Reed-Gilbert, shares parts of his life in it. You can watch it on SBS on Demand.

Death and Legacy

Kevin Gilbert died on 1 April 1993, at age 59. He passed away from emphysema. He was survived by six children, many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. One of his daughters was the poet and activist Kerry Reed-Gilbert (1956–2019).

On 8 April 1993, Aboriginal people held a special service. They honored Kevin Gilbert's life and work.

Published Works

Drama

Poetry

Non-fiction

Anthology

For children

Collections and Exhibitions

Collections

Kevin Gilbert's artwork is held in many public and private collections. These include:

• Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
• National Gallery of Australia
• National Museum of Australia
• Art Gallery of NSW
• Queensland Art Gallery
• Queensland Museum
• Western Australian Museum
• Powerhouse Museum
• Tandanya Aboriginal Art Gallery
• Museum of Victoria
• Queensland University of Technology
• Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

Exhibitions

Exhibitions that have shown Gilbert's work include:

2016: Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday, Museum of Contemporary Art, (MCA) Sydney

2013: I Do have a belief: Kevin Gilbert (1933 - 1993), Belconnen Art Centre, ACT

2004: Athens Olympics, Greece

2001: Intermission, Wharf 2 Gallery, Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney Kevin Gilbert Retrospective, Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-op, Sydney

1996–2000: Breath of Life: Moments in transit towards Aboriginal Sovereignty; Visions of Australia National Tour; CHOGM, Durban, South Africa (2000); Rebecca Hossack Gallery, Soho, London (2000); Umbrella Gallery, Townsville (1999); Indigenous Pathways, Toowoomba (1998); Tandanya – National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide (1997); The Armidale Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, Armidale (1997); Moree Plains Gallery, Moree (1997); Australian Centre for Photography, Paddington, Sydney (1997); Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth (1997)' Canberra Contemporary Art Space (1996)

1995:Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

1994: Tyerabarrbowaryaou II – I shall never become a white man, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney and 5th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba

Urban Focus, National Gallery of Australia

Who’s afraid of Red, Black and Yella – Museum of Ethnology, Rotterdam

Legends from Down Under, Boomerang Galerie, Amsterdam

New Tracks – Old Land, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon

1993 Memorial Tribute to Kevin Gilbert, Gallery One, National Gallery of Australia

New Tracks – Old Land Australian Galleries, Green Street, Soho, New York; Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences, Darwin; Queensland Aboriginal Creations, Brisbane; Redcliff Entertainment Centre, Redcliff, Queensland

1992: New Tracks-Old Land, Massachusetts College of Art, Huntington Gallery, Boston Massachusetts

Painting Our Dreaming, Alliance Francaise Gallery, Canberra

’92 Pressin, Spiral Arm Gallery, Canberra

1991: Tjukurrpa Nganampa Kantyila Kanyintjaku – Keeping Our Dreaming Strong, Hackett, ACT & Alliance Francaise Gallery, Canberra.

Social Images, Gorman House, Canberra.

1990: Desert Art, Albert Hall, Canberra

1989: Narragunnawalli, Canberra Contemporary Art Space

Inside Black Australia, Aboriginal Photographers Exhibition, Showground, Wagga Wagga,NSW; Trades and Labour Club, Newcastle, NSW; Queensland Museum, Brisbane; Museum of Victoria, Melbourne.

1988: Inside Black Australia, Aboriginal Photographers Exhibition Albert Hall, Canberra; Leftbank Bookshop, Canberra; Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney; Centreprize, London;. Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-Op, Sydney.

1975-6: Koorainghat Gardens Art Gallery, Taree, NSW

1970-1: Arts Council Gallery, East Sydney

1968, 1969 and 1970: Robin Hood Gallery, Sydney