Richard Bell (Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang) was born in Charleville, Queensland, in 1953. He came to art through political activism and has fought for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over decades. Working across video, installation, painting and text, Bell's work is sharp and satirical, always seeking to challenge pre-conceived ideas of what Aboriginal art is or should be.
Bell co-founded the ProppaNOW artists' collective in Brisbane in 2003. While he was relatively successful in the following decade, his career has gained serious momentum in the last few years. He was a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2015 and his ongoing project Embassy has been displayed widely all over the world including at the Tate Modern in 2023.
In this video Richard Bell is in-conversation with Michael Aird, Director of University of Queensland's Anthropology Museum and himself a renowned First Nations photographer.
The Portrait of an Artist series is made possible thanks to the generosity of James C Sourris AM through the Queensland Library Foundation.
Event was held on Thursday 3 August 2023, 6.30pm, Auditorium 1, level 2, State Library of Queensland and is part of the James C. Sourris AM Collection of Artist Interviews
More information: slq.qld.gov.au/research-collections/art-and-design/james-c-sourris-am-collection