Dana Garlett always had a passion for art, but never considered pursuing it as a career or her main source of income. It wasn’t until she decided to take a leap of faith that she saw God open doors for her to ultimately become the first Indigenous community artist to have a residence at the Subiaco Museum in Perth, WA. She is excited to see where God will lead her on this journey as she uses the strength of her community, the shared vision of her people and the legacy she will pass on to the next generation, as her art continues to evolve.
Garlett, 34, is a proud Whadjuk, Minang, Nyikina and Gooniyandi woman, with her roots running deep from the waters of the Mardoowarra of Fitzroy Crossing to the Darling Ranges and Southern Coastal Plains of Western Australia. As the seventh recorded generation Whadjuk, she has many stories to share and she has started by sharing her own at her first art exhibit called Becoming Djida. Djida is the name her father, Darren Garlett, gave her when she was born. It is used to describe the morning scenes before the sun rises and a new day begins, this includes the first lights and the birds singing.
Her art is an expression of her identity, which is shaped and inspired by the older people in her life. The exhibit consisted of various art forms, including, acrylic on canvas, digital artwork, sculptures, wooden carvings and woven pieces.
“Because it was my first art exhibition I wanted to go back and see how it all started. I first started creating art using acrylic paint on canvas before moving to digital art. Weaving is in my family as my older sister, Nadine, runs a weaving business and my nana, who was part of the stolen generation, used weaving to help her heal and reconnect with her mob, so weaving is important to me and my story.”
The artworks tell stories from her life, her family and her country.
“I think country is where it all starts. We talk about being on country and country being a part of us, which is true. We are one with nature and country is all sorts of things. It’s the land, sea and sky but also the pathways and the air we breathe. It is being in nature with God and that is the number one inspiration for me and my work.”
Garlett is one of four children, and she remembers when they were growing up her parents put a lot of focus on serving others. “I remember going to camps and Mum and Dad were always visiting people and doing things at camps like organising crafts; everything always revolved around service.” So, when she left school after Year 11 and became a mum, she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, however, she did know she wanted to serve people. Which is why she worked in office administration and eventually became the student services officer at Mamarapha College, an Indigenous Bible college based in Perth.
“I was fulfilling the service role at work, then I would come home and serve my community and my mob.”
However, even in her office roles, she was still pulled towards her gift of art, often using her skills to create certificates and flyers and making documents more aesthetically pleasing. She would use her skills to help her parents create promotional materials for events and helped friends when they would need assistance with graphic art projects.
Although she loved art, she was overly critical of her own artwork growing up and kept them to herself and her close family. As a single mum and her family’s sole breadwinner, she found it was too risky to put everything into her art. But in 2020, she decided to take a leap of faith and created Paperbark Prints, a gift card company featuring Indigenous designs.
“I love gift giving and I am always very thoughtful when giving gifts. When you go to the shops to buy a card you think about the person you are giving it to and want to get a card to suit them, but I never saw cards for black fellas in the shops, so I thought it was important to have cards specific for us.”
Garlett was still working in office administration at the time and working on Paperbark Prints on the side. The week after starting her business, a friend invited her to a masterclass run by the Minderoo Foundation. The masterclass consisted of bringing Aboriginal businesses and Aboriginal investors together so they could support each other.
“It was really important for me to see other Aboriginal businesses and see the impact they had. This made me think more seriously about what I was doing and not think of it as just a business, but how I can be more of an influence and impactful in my community and how I can give back.”
Once Garlett started on the path of creating art for people to see, she saw God opening doors almost immediately. She would sell the gift cards in the market and meet people, which led to commission work.
“God had a plan because I didn’t know what I was doing. But I was willing to say yes and go with it. He put people in my path to steer me into what I am doing—and this is still happening. He has guided me along the way to things I thought I would never be a part of.”
Two years after she created Paperbark Prints, Garlett quit her primary job to focus solely on art. Since making that decision, she hasn’t had to look for work.
“God has been putting me in different places at different times, meeting different people and He has opened up doors for things to happen that I didn’t even think about. Some things I am not ready for, but I am just saying yes. I am being open-minded and being willing to try something new. That is how I came to have this exhibit.”
The City of Subiaco was receiving expressions of interest to assist with their Reconciliation Action Plan. Garlett applied and won. As a result, they invited her back to exhibit at the museum. Following on from this, she will be part of Subi Blooms, an interactive floral art installation, where once again, she will be the first Indigenous artist, along with two other artists, to be involved.
“I am really grateful to have the opportunity to be the first Indigenous artist to exhibit (at Subiaco Museum) but it does show how far they have to go in their Reconciliation Action Plan. Even though this is overdue, this is the first step to changing that, and I am glad to be a part of it. Not everyone in the city may want to accept the history of what’s happened but having me be an artist and having a presence sparks conversation and gets them talking about real reconciliation.”
Garlett is creating a legacy and is part of the next generation of Indigenous leaders. She has accomplished so much and continues to grow in the art field. When asked what advice she has for the next generation, the same generation her son, Malcolm (16) is part of, she responded, “Just start, just do something. A lot of people, especially the younger generation, are really scared to fail. People say this all this time, but you just have to try it and go from there. Have the mindset that if you do fail, it’s not the end—it’s just showing you there is another way to do it and a better way to do it”.
“A lot of people don’t know what they are doing. I don’t even know sometimes what I am doing, but that’s okay, you can know where you want to end up, but you don’t have to know how you are going to get there. God will bring people into your life, and He will help to guide you to where you are supposed to be and show you your purpose.”
Since the art exhibition at the Subiaco Museum opened, Garlett has been working on several different projects. She has worked with an Aboriginal interior designer and a team of artists at the new Ernst & Young office in Perth CBD. They have assisted in designing three levels, each focusing on different aspects of Noongar culture: country, waterway and trade. This includes artistic glazing throughout the office and a large four-metre wood carving which speaks to the story of Noongar commerce and trade.
She has been working with designer Leah Paige on a weaving installation for the entrance of the Bank West office, and she and nine other Noongar artists will be working on public art that spans over seven kilometres, integrating artwork and stories of her people into parks, playgrounds and landscaped areas. She will specifically be designing a seating area and a large floor mural.
“I’ve learnt to be open-minded, because God has plans for me. I don’t know what’s going on but as long as I am willing to step into the door He has opened, it will build me as a person and as an artist to be more confident in my identity. The artwork is the icing on the cake; it’s the journey that we take before that that’s important. We never really know what God is doing behind the scenes—as long as we are willing and open to it, it can lead to all sorts of things. Not only building my own self up but building others up, and building a legacy for those to come.
“It makes a difference knowing that God has a higher purpose because I see this as my calling, not just a job, but as God using me as a vessel to get His message out there. We know Jesus is coming back soon and the more we share our story and His story, people can connect to that and in turn, change their story.
“I want to create a legacy for our younger generation and build something for the future. This is my way of doing that. It might be a little bit different to everyone else in my family but I love what I am doing and this is only the start.”
Lorraine Atchia works for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia. She lives in Melbourne, Victoria.
To support Djida’s work, browse her prints here
