Profile

Libby Harward is a Quandamooka (Ngugi) woman from Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) and a contemporary conceptual artist working across installation, performance, video, sound and public art.

Her practice interrogates colonial systems of classification, extraction and governance while foregrounding First Nations relationships to Country, knowledge systems and cultural continuity.

Harward’s work has been presented nationally and internationally including the Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane), Art Gallery of South Australia (Adelaide), ACE Open (Adelaide), Institute of Modern Art (Brisbane), Gropius Bau (Berlin), and Liquid Architecture (Melbourne / Norway).

She is the Founder and Creative Director of Munimba-ja Arts Centre, a First Nations-led organisation supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across South East Queensland through exhibitions, residencies, mentorship and professional development.

 

 

 

LIBBY HARWARD

Quandamooka (Ngugi) artist
Born 1976, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Based on Jinibara Country, Cambroon, Queensland

T: +61 413 673 993
E: Libby@munimba-ja.com.au
W: libbyharward.art


Education

2022
Master of Visual Arts (deferred)
Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane

2015
Graduate Certificate in Developmental Trauma
Australian Childhood Foundation

2000
Bachelor of Arts (Theatre)
Griffith University, Gold Coast


Major Institutional Exhibitions

2025
TARNANTHI – Art Gallery of South Australia (The Blak Laundry with Dominique Chen)

2024
Seeds and Sovereignty – Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane

2021
SOLID GOLD – HOTA Home of the Arts, Gold Coast

2020
Amplification: Affirmation: Location, Spirit, Song – Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

2019
Ngali Ngariba – Berliner Festspiele, Gropius Bau, Berlin


Selected Exhibitions

2025
Yield – Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, QLD
The Way Things Grow – The Condensery, Somerset Regional Art Gallery, QLD
TARNANTHI – ACE Open, Adelaide

2024
Strange Weather – UniSC Art Gallery, Sunshine Coast
Catapult – Cairns Indigenous Art Fair

2023
The Blak Laundry (with Dominique Chen) – Horizon Festival
The Blak Laundry (with Dominique Chen) – Woodford Folk Festival

2022
Natural State (with Dominique Chen) – The Condensery

2021
Water Rites – ACE Open
MINYANG NYINDA YARINYA? MINYANG NYINDA YAGAY BA? – Caboolture Regional Art Gallery

2020
DABILBUNG (Broken Water) – BLEACH Festival
Smoke Cloak – 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
deadstream-DABILBUNG – Next Wave Festival
channel dead_stream – BOXCOPY
RES[ON]ANCE [OFF] – OuterSpace

2019
Already Occupied – Redland Art Gallery
Past, Place, Future – MARS Gallery
Ganngalanji – BLEACH Festival Commission

2018
Why Listen to Plants – Liquid Architecture
Polyphonic Social – Liquid Architecture
Minyang Nyinda Yarinya? – Liquid Architecture, Norway


Public Art Commissions

2021
Picabeen – HOTA Home of the Arts
(Developed under mentorship of Judy Watson)

2017
Interactive Mural – National Museum of Australia


Leadership & Governance

2021–Present
Founder, Director & Board Member
Munimba-ja Arts Centre Ltd

2019–2020
Public Programs Assistant
HOTA – Home of the Arts

2012–2022
Artistic Director
Libby Harward Art – Creative Inclusive Pty Ltd

2017 & 2015
Guest Lecturer – Indigenous Art Protocols
Queensland College of Art, Griffith University

2007–2012
Creative Director
Inter Urban Arts – Gold Coast Drug Council (Mirikai)

2003–2006
Coordinator, Arts and Health
Brisbane Youth Service


Selected Writing, Media & Publications

2026
“Unearthing Histories” – Art Guide Australia

2025
“Too Deadly: Looking at 10 Years of TARNANTHI” – ArtsHub

2024
NAVA Artist File – National Association for the Visual Arts

2024
“Seeds & Sovereignty: Message and Meaning” – QAGOMA

2024
“InReview / InDaily Queensland” – Arts Feature

2024
ABC Arts – The Blak Laundry Takes Over Richard Bell’s Embassy

2022
Artlink – Damper is a Language Word for Art

2021
Art + Australia – Decolonial Gardening

2021
The Conversation – Inspired by Organic Cells

2016
Colour Theory – NITV / SBS


Collections

National Museum of Australia
Redland Art Gallery
Moreton Bay Regional Galleries
Caboolture Regional Art Gallery