Donna Brown is a Gumbaynggirr artist based in the Nambucca Valley, who works in a variety of mediums including painting and jewellery. She has exhibited extensively across Australia, including in group exhibitions at Boomalli Aboriginal Art Centre Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award at MAGNT, NGV, undertaken public art commissions, and was part of the groundbreaking Aboriginal jewellery collective in Melbourne Shiny Shiny Blak Bling (which was a major inspiration for The Indigenous Jewellery Project).

She has been an instrumental leader in the Bawrrungga Project with IJP and the Australian Design Centre, organising studio practice at the wonderful Nambucca Surf Club who generously donated their beautiful beachfront space to the artists to continue work, assisting artists, and helping with administration and organisation.

Since she has worked closely with Everywhen in developing this solo exhibition for NAIDOC Week 2022.

The Indigenous Jewellery Project

Founded in 2013, the Indigenous Jewellery Project (IJP) is the first nation-wide Indigenous Australian contemporary jewellery project. IJP works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned art centres across Australia, running workshops on country with traditional Indigenous jewellers, founding curator Emily McCulloch Childs, UNSW lecturer Melinda Young and leading public galleries.

The aim of the Indigenous Jewellery Project is to strengthen and continue existing traditions and facilitate artists to develop a career as exhibiting contemporary artist jewellers through upskilling, involving developing practice and the use of professional jewellery materials. It is focused on developing and maintaining Aboriginal jewellery and small object tradition and practice, reinforcing the connection to traditional lands and the natural world and developing a sophisticated contemporary art craft practice, in which works are created that both sit on the body and outside it.