Craig Charles was born 1975 in Mildura, Victoria. Craig’s art and style make him an exciting artist to look out for. As a young man growing up around the art of making art, Craig uses these spiritual guides to expose a beautiful culture to mainstream society. Craig’s life has been an emotional journey where as a young boy he was separated from his mother and placed with his nanna. His nanna set Craig on a cultural journey that has allowed him to embrace his roots, which has led him to where he is today. Craig’s work expresses a love for his traditions and a desire to share his culture so that others may embrace and enjoy what Aboriginal culture and the Dreamtime are all about.Awards
2007 Awarded the NGV Acquisitive Prize, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2003 Michael Long Testimonial Award
2000 The Black Crow Dancers – started own dance group, toured through northern Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia promoting indigenous dance and culture
1998 Highly commended (emerging artist section) The Fourth National Indigenous Heritage Art Award
1997 Artist’s Merit 25 years and under. Russell Savage MLA Award, Sunset in Spring Exhibition
1997 Awarded the Collin Barrie Acquisition Scholarship, La Trobe University, Mildura
1996 Awarded outstanding Koori student, Victoria Training Awards, Melbourne
1996 Awarded Runner-Up Australian Aboriginal Student of the Year, Australian National Training Awards (ANTA), Brisbane
Collections
Museum Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Koori Heritage Trust, Victoria
La Trobe University Art Collection, Melbourne & Mildura, Victoria
Artbank, Sydney
Solo Exhibitions
2000 Nanna Bett and Me, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
2002 Stories from Nan and Pop, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
2005 City Style, Country Youth Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre Melbourne Museum
Group Exhibitions
1994 to 1996
End of Year Visual Arts Student Exhibitions, Mildura Art Centre, Victoria
Just Too Deadly, Linden Art Gallery, St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria
Blackfellas, Grand Central Gallery, Bourke Street Melbourne, Victoria
Australian Heritage Art Award, The Old Parliament House, Canberra, ACT
1996 Big Shots Exhibition – We-Iri-We-Homeborn, The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1998 Fourth National Indigenous Heritage Art Award, The Old Parliament , Canberra, ACT
1999 Goodies & Oldies, Tandanya Centre, Adelaide, SA
1999 All About Art, Alcaston Galery, Melbourne, Victoria
1999 Which Way Exhibition, Mutti Mara, Midura, Victoria
2000 Belonging to country, Bunjilaka Aboriginal Gallery, Melbourne Museum
2000 The Art of Place, The Fifth National Indigenous Heritage Art Award, The Old Parliament House, Canberra, ACT & touring: Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery, NSW; Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide, SA; State Library of NSW, Sydney; The Araluen Centre for Arts and Entertainment, Alice Springs, NT; John Curtain Gallery, University of Technology, Perth, WA
2000 Artfair, represented by Alcaston Gallery Melbourne, Victoria
2001 All About Art, Alcaston Gallery Melbourne, Victoria
2001 Spirituality & Australian Aboriginal Art, touring exhibition, Department of Culture, Regional Government of Madrid, Spain
2001 Queer Family, Community Group show, Span Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria
2001 Unseen Country, as part of the City of Port Phillip’s ‘Bless Your Big Black Arts’ Festival, St Kilda, Victoria
2001 Scar – A Stolen Vision, a public art installation presented by the city of Melbourne
2002 Spirituality & Australian Aboriginal Art, touring exhibition, sponsored by the regional government of Madrid, Spain, final exhibition Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
2002 Ab-Normal, Next Wave Festival, Dante’s Upstairs Gallery, Fitzroy, Victoria
2002 Native Title Business: Contemporary Aboriginal Art, National Travelling Exhibition presented by the Gurrang Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, toured by the Regional Galleries Association of Queensland
2002 What’s Going on, Contemporary Indigenous Art, from the Murray Darling Region, Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria
2002 Michael Long Testimonial Award, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
2002 Melbourne Art Fair, october 2 – 6, represented by Alcaston Gallery
2002 Inaugural Hang, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Federation Square, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Omnific, TAP Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2003 Bachelor of Fine Art – Honours Painting & Drawing Graduate Exhibition, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria
2005 City Style, Country Youth, Supported By City of Melbourne – Bunjilaka Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2005 Djarra Country Gold, Gallery 25, Deakin ave, Mildura, Feb 2005
