We are very proud to have Dr Jason De Santolo, Lucy Simpson and Damien Webb as members of our selection panel.
Dr Jason De Santolo (Garrwa and Barunggam) is a researcher, creative producer and father committed to forging a sustainable world for future generations through transformative research strategies, storytelling and practices of renewal.
Born in Larrakia homelands – Darwin – he moved to Aoteaoroa/New Zealand at an early age and studied treaty and international environmental law. His unique research practice integrates video, creative practice and renewal strategies. In 2014 he received a UTS Research Excellence Scholarship; he graduated in 2018 with a creative doctorate that, through his passion for filmmaking, explores the renewal of song traditions and collective aspirations for self determination.
Jason co-edited Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork as Methodology with Jo-Ann Archibald and Jenny Lee-Morgan, which will be available from April 2019 through Zed Books. His latest documentary Warburdar Bununu/Water Shield explores water contamination in Borroloola, NT and is set to be released by Browncabs in 2019.
Lucy Simpson is a Sydney-based artist and designer with a focus on storytelling and narrative, sharing aspects of country and contemporary South Eastern Aboriginal culture. Lucy is a Yuwaalaraay woman belonging to the freshwater country of the Walgett Lightning Ridge and Angledool areas of northwest New South Wales, an area from which she draws inspiration for much of her work.
Lucy graduated from the College of Fine Arts (now UNSW Art & Design) in 2010 with a Bachelor of Design, receiving both the COFA Object Award in Design and the Longina Phillips Textiles Award. She is the founder and director of design company and homewares and accessories label Gaawaa Miyay, which was established in 2009. Among many other projects, Lucy’s practice was documented for the National Indigenous Television series Colour Theory with Richard Bell in 2013, and in 2014 she was named as one of four participants in the British Council’s Indigenous Creative Leadership Program, Accelerate.
Travelling to the UK, Lucy spent time with objects and archives of different collections, including the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and the British Museum, connecting with objects from her own community.
This experience has continued to inform her understanding and approach to working with cultural materials today, and the Library has been fortunate to collaborate with Lucy Simpson on different projects.
Damien is a Palawa man (from southeast Tasmania) who has worked in state libraries for the last 10 years, including roles in Western Australia and New South Wales. He previously coordinated the State Library of Western Australia’s Storylines Project and has worked with Aboriginal artists, traditional owners and researchers all over Australia.
He is currently employed as the Manager of the Indigenous Engagement Branch at the State Library of New South Wales, where he works with a small team of dedicated Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff to implement new ways of bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices to library collections.