Julie Dowling, an artist of Badimaya, Irish and Scottish Catholic heritage, was born in Subiaco, Western Australia and grew up in nearby urban and semi-rural areas. She was awarded a Diploma of Fine Art at Claremont School of Art in 1989, and gained her degree in fine arts from Curtin University in 1992. In 1995 she held her first solo exhibition, at Fremantle Arts Centre; the same year she gained an associate diploma in visual arts management from Perth Metropolitan TAFE in 1995. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Murdoch University in 2002. Evoking diverse traditions including European portraiture and Christian icons, mural painting, dotting and Indigenous Australian iconography while drawing on her own family history, she has exhibited throughout Australia and overseas, notably at Art Fair Cologne in 1997; Beyond the Pale: Contemporary Indigenous Art as part of the 2000 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art; Spirit Country: The Gantner Myer Collection of Contemporary Indigenous Art at the Melbourne Museum in 2002; Places that name us at the Ian Potter Museum in 2003; Federation at the National Gallery of Australia in 2001; Culture Warriors at the NGA in 2007 and Strange Fruit: Testimony and Memory in Julie Dowling’s portraits at the Ian Potter Museum in 2007. She has been an Archibald finalist three times. Her work is represented in most major Australian public collections.
