Artist Bio Sammy Joy
Sammy is on a journey of discovering her cultural heritage and is proud to be reclaiming her cultural history and identity as a Barkindji woman with family ties to the Wilcannia region in New South Wales. Sammy hopes to share her story with other young First Nations people who might also be disconnected from their cultural heritage and identity, to share her positive message
that it’s ok not to know where you come from, it’s ok to be on a journey, piecing together the parts of one’s genealogy through a story of stolen generations and colonised histories to make sense of contemporary cultural identity. Sammy Joy is a contemporary emerging artist, producer and arts coordinator working and living in Adelaide on the unseeded lands of Kaurna Country. Sammy began her career in the arts through Carclew based in North Adelaide, as an independent artist engaged on Ngarrindjeri Yanun, Aboriginal Artist in Schools Program in 2016. Where she was mentored by first nation elders, cultural authorities and established artist throughout the program. Sammy fell in love with the arts and cultural industries and through this experience and decided to further her personal connection to her own culture, tracing her connection to country that was lost through separation and disconnection. Creating art is one of many ways Sammy feels connected her ancestors, to who she is, where she is from, and who she is becoming. Sammy has since completed a 2-year Traineeship through Carclew, completing her Cert III and IV in Business Administration and was awarded AFL Sports Ready Indigenous Trainee of the Year 2020. Sammy is currently employed full time as a Project Coordinator at Carclew assisting with the project coordination and delivery of First Nation programs, including Aboriginal Artist in Schools. In her spare time, Sammy uses acrylic paints on stretched canvas, spray paint, pouring techniques, aboriginal symbols and dots, dotting tools, posca pens, multiple brush sizes, glitter, glue & varnish to express her journey, tell truth, learn her culture and collaboratively create artistic outcomes.
