Crista Bradshaw
Crista Bradshaw is a proud Wangkumaran Contemporary artist. Residing in regional South Australia, Bradshaw grew up without much of a connection to her Wangkumaran heritage and later came to discover that through the process of colonisation and dispossession, her family had lost its relationship with their language group. It was only in her late teens that Bradshaw began to look deeper and re-establish this connection.
Bradshaw’s practice has since evolved from a merely surface-level interpretation of Western and Aboriginal art separately, into a much more refined exploration of the inner workings of each, and how they relate/fit together to expand on each other. Being of both Aboriginal Australian and European descent, Crista Bradshaw is discovering how these two parts of her identity can unify through an exploration of culture and self, and is further examining how contemporary Aboriginal and Western art can be combined to reflect the healing of colonisation in Australia.
She works within a mixed disciplinary approach, having worked with forms of expanded painting, sculpture and installation. She investigates how these can better represent the ways in which Indigenous and Australian art have evolved and, in extension, the evolution of Indigenous Australia. With in-depth knowledge of Indigenous dreaming, dot painting, contemporary painting practices and techniques, Bradshaw employs a deep understanding of both cultural importance and unity between these art forms.
Crista Bradshaw, Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2026, Project Curator Mentorship recipient.This opportunity feels like the next step in my creative journey, building on my artistic practice while developing the skills and confidence to curate with purpose and care... most of all, I’m excited to contribute to greater First Nations representation and leadership within the curatorial field.
- 2017
Presents work in the group exhibition, Stories, Bob Hawke Ministerial Centre
- 2018
Receives The Mill SALA Workshop Prize
- 2020
Presents work in the group exhibition, A quarter turn around the sun, SASA Gallery
- 2021
Receives the Trevor Nickolls Aboriginal Student Art Grant
- 2022
Receives the President of the Friends of the South Australian School of Art Prize
- 2023
Presents work in the group exhibition, Still Self, The Mill
2023Exhibits as part of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition
- 2023
Has work selected for presentation on the SALA Festival Jarvis Škoda Art Car
2023Receives the SALA Award as part of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition Value: $1,000
- 2023
Presents work in the group exhibition, OUR MOB: Art by South Australian Aboriginal Artists
2023Receives the Helpmann Academy People’s Choice Award as part of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition Value: $250
- 2023
2023 Presents solo exhibition, gawa nali yanta-ra nanta nura-anai (Come on, we’ll go to my camp), Online
2023Receives a Helpmann Academy grant to support a project realised regionally. This resulted in the exhibition gawa nali yanta-ra nanta nura-anai (Come on, we’ll go to my camp) that featured photographic works Value: $1,714.95
- 2025
Receives the UniSA Medal of Outstanding Academic Achievement, and the UniSA Creative Graduate Exhibition Prize
- 2025
Begins working at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental Gallery as Education and Studios Coordinator (First Nations) working direct to support First Nations artists involved in their programming
2025Selected for the Helpmann Academy Stobie Pole Project, a unique commissioning opportunity with SA Power Networks Value: $3,000
- 2025
Presents solo exhibition, Yuru Walbiri-ana: Only Shadow, Burra Regional Gallery
2026Selected as the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition Project Curator. With mentorship from Samstag Museum Associate Curator, Anna Zagala, she is involved with the curation of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2026 Value: $13,000
- 2025
Curates the exhibition, Future Studios: 2025, Adelaide Contemporary Experimental Gallery
- 2025
Undertakes the Guildhouse Collections Project as presented with the City of Adelaide, presenting the exhibition Between the Archives: an Indigenous Perspective as an outcome from the residency project in the City of Adelaide’s ART POD
$20K +
value in support and
opportunities from
Helpmann Academy
- 2017
Presents work in the group exhibition, Stories, Bob Hawke Ministerial Centre
- 2018
Receives The Mill SALA Workshop Prize
- 2020
Presents work in the group exhibition, A quarter turn around the sun, SASA Gallery
- 2021
Receives the Trevor Nickolls Aboriginal Student Art Grant
- 2022
Receives the President of the Friends of the South Australian School of Art Prize
- 2023
Presents work in the group exhibition, Still Self, The Mill
- 2023
Exhibits as part of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition
- 2023
Has work selected for presentation on the SALA Festival Jarvis Škoda Art Car
- 2023
Receives the SALA Award as part of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition Value: $1,000
- 2023
Presents work in the group exhibition, OUR MOB: Art by South Australian Aboriginal Artists
- 2023
Receives the Helpmann Academy People’s Choice Award as part of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition Value: $250
- 2023
2023 Presents solo exhibition, gawa nali yanta-ra nanta nura-anai (Come on, we’ll go to my camp), Online
- 2023
Receives a Helpmann Academy grant to support a project realised regionally. This resulted in the exhibition gawa nali yanta-ra nanta nura-anai (Come on, we’ll go to my camp) that featured photographic works Value: $1,714.95
- 2025
Receives the UniSA Medal of Outstanding Academic Achievement, and the UniSA Creative Graduate Exhibition Prize
- 2025
Begins working at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental Gallery as Education and Studios Coordinator (First Nations) working direct to support First Nations artists involved in their programming
- 2025
Selected for the Helpmann Academy Stobie Pole Project, a unique commissioning opportunity with SA Power Networks Value: $3,000
- 2025
Presents solo exhibition, Yuru Walbiri-ana: Only Shadow, Burra Regional Gallery
- 2025
Curates the exhibition, Future Studios: 2025, Adelaide Contemporary Experimental Gallery
- 2025
Undertakes the Guildhouse Collections Project as presented with the City of Adelaide, presenting the exhibition Between the Archives: an Indigenous Perspective as an outcome from the residency project in the City of Adelaide’s ART POD
- 2026
Selected as the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition Project Curator. With mentorship from Samstag Museum Associate Curator, Anna Zagala, she is involved with the curation of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2026 Value: $13,000
$20K +
value in support and
opportunities from
Helpmann Academy