Fiona Foley (born 1964) is a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from K'gari (Fraser Island), Queensland. Foley is known for her activity as an academic, cultural and community leader and for co-founding the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative. Her practice encompasses many media including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, textiles and installation. Her work addresses contemporary political issues facing Indigenous Australians and is held in the public collections of many Australian state, national and university collections including the Cruthers Collection of Women's Art as well as the British Museum. Foley's work has toured internationally and featured in several major exhibitions including Global Feminisms at the Brooklyn Museum and World of Dreamings: Traditional and modern art of Australia at Russia's Hermitage Museum and the National Gallery of Australia. Biography Fiona Foley was born in Maryborough in 1964 and raised in nearby Hervey Bay and (briefly) Mount Isa. Foley attended high school in Sydney with her siblings, and then attained a Certificate of Arts from East Sydney Technical College in 1983. She was one of the first Indigenous students to attend the Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney University completing a Bachelor of Visual Arts in 1986. The following year she completed a Diploma of Education at Sydney University. Foley's mother, Shirley Foley, was born in Urangan and was a member of the Wondunna clan of the Badtjala people, the traditional owners of K'gari, sometimes formerly known as Thoorgine. In 1988, Shirley Foley established the Thoorgine Educational and Culture Centre on the island. She spent twenty years researching and recording Badjala language and culture, culminating in the publication of a Badtjala/English dictionary. Her mother's cultural pride and high regard for education have influenced Foley throughout her career. Her father was Barry Foley (1938-2017) who was born in Sydney, one of nine children in a Catholic family. His father emigrated to Australia from Ireland before World War one. Since 1985, Foley has had significant engagement with Indigenous communities in central Australia, most notably Maningrida and Ramingining in Arnhem Land. Foley and her mother visited Maningrida in 1992, facilitating a cultural exchange between locals and Badtjala people. Before this, Foley lived and worked in Ramingining for several months. These trips greatly informed her practice, provided further insights into Aboriginal culture, and inspired her to be a cultural leader. In 1995, Foley permanently moved back to Hervey Bay to be with family and take part in Native Title