Nici Cumpston


Nici Cumpston, is an Australian photographer, painter, curator, writer, and educator.
Cumpston's family background is Barkindji, Afghan, Irish and English. Born in Adelaide, she graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts.
Cumpston shoots on black-and-white film, which is then scanned and printed digitally on canvas before being hand-coloured. An exhibition of her work, having-been-there, was held at the University of Virginia's Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection in 2014, during which Cumpston spent two months as resident artist.
Employed by the Art Gallery of South Australia since 2008, Cumpston became artistic director of Tarnanthi, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts festival held in Adelaide, in 2015. Tarnanthi exhibitions were held at AGSA, the South Australian Museum, the JamFactory and the South Australian School of Art.
Cumpston became Curator Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at AGSA in 2016, and as of 2020 remains artistic director role of Tarnanthi.
In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Cumpston was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to the museums and galleries sector, and to Indigenous art".

Works

Cumpston has works in the National Gallery of Victoria
Her work is also found in the National Gallery of Australia: