{"id":628875,"date":"2026-04-24T23:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T23:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/628875\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T23:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T23:59:27","slug":"young-indigenous-artist-uses-work-to-explore-personal-stories-experiences-in-care-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/628875\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Indigenous artist uses work to explore personal stories, experiences in care system"},"content":{"rendered":"

For 16-year-old Keira Graham, putting colour to canvas has become an outlet for healing and a way to find her voice.<\/p>\n

Originally from Ti-Tree, around two hours’ drive north of Alice Springs, the Anmatjere and Arrernte teen found her permanent foster family at four years old.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t speak much in Alice Springs \u2026 I didn’t speak much English. When I was a baby, I spoke Warlpiri, which is my native language,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t really understand what was happening.<\/p>\n

“I remember they welcomed me \u2026 that’s what made me feel like maybe this could be home.”<\/p>\n

\"Keira<\/p>\n

Keira Graham says her family and Indigenous culture inspire her storytelling. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

It was Keira’s case worker who first gifted her art supplies, inspiring her creative talents while the family lived in an underground home in Coober Pedy.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Keira represents her experience coming into care through her self-portraits. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

Keira said her journey as an artist and her self-portraits have helped her process her experiences in foster care.<\/p>\n

“The one of myself is my journey of coming into care,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The background is full of movement and colour. It’s my way of showing everything I carry, the fear, the silence, the hope, and love I eventually found. This painting holds all of that.”<\/p>\n

\"Keira<\/p>\n

Keira says this piece shows her relationship with her grandma, with her family often represented in her work. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

“It does help me express myself \u2026 through colour or animals, or stories.<\/p>\n

“One is about my brother and me. We like to go to the beach a lot, and we like to find crabs.”<\/p>\n

Hobby turned career\"Keira<\/p>\n

Keira says her art has been a key part of processing and sharing her journey. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

Now living with her family in Port Macquarie on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, Keira’s artwork has quickly gone from hobby to a promising career.<\/p>\n

The Northern Territory Department of Children and Families has purchased one of Keira’s self-portraits for their Alice Springs office to inspire other children in foster care.<\/p>\n

Mparntwe country and the red sand of Alice Springs also feature in a netball uniform Keira designed through an art competition with the Alice Springs Netball Association.<\/p>\n

\"Keira<\/p>\n

Keira entered and won a competition hosted by the Alice Springs Netball Association to design new uniforms. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

After debuting at the NT Link competition in Darwin last June, her designs can now be seen on courts across the territory.<\/p>\n

“A family friend told me about the competition,” Keira said.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t really expect to win, but I did. I was really proud to see my design on the dresses and the players.”<\/p>\n

While living in Muswellbrook, in the NSW Upper Hunter region, the Wanaruah Local Aboriginal Land Council and a local energy company reached out to Keira to create artwork for a community engagement campaign.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Keira, who loves playing basketball and netball, says she was proud to see her designs being worn on the court. (Supplied: Celina Whan Creative Photography)<\/p>\n

In December, her work attracted the attention of a former Olympian.<\/p>\n

“I wasn’t expecting that Keira was only going to be 16,” Olympic sprinter turned bobsledder Jana Pittman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Keira<\/p>\n

Jana Pittman discovered Keira’s work online and says she’s proud to be a new buyer. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

The two-time World Champion and four-time Commonwealth Champion said she began collecting Aboriginal art after competing with fellow Olympic legend Cathy Freeman to help her children learn about Indigenous history and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now an obstetrician in Port Macquarie, Pittman found Keira’s work while scrolling online.<\/p>\n

“I found this beautiful piece of art that took my imagination straight away,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I’m a women’s health doctor, and that painting I’ve also found out relates to women and passing down heritage and birthing, things like that.”<\/p>\n

Keira said the piece was a tribute to women, particularly those who have helped shape her life.<\/p>\n

\"Keira<\/p>\n

Jana Pittman says she was particularly inspired by the piece about empowering women. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

“I didn’t actually expect someone like [Jana] to be buying my paintings,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s about women and empowering women \u2026 it’s for grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunties,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The circles represent the creation of life \u2026 it’s a mix of modern art and traditional dot painting too.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Keira describes her work as a mix of traditional and modern art and says it helps her connect with her Indigenous culture. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

Keira’s parents, Tiffany and Ben Swan, said art had helped their daughter come out of her shell.<\/p>\n

“I do feel that she is expressing herself through her artwork,” Ms Swan said.<\/p>\n

“She’s just blown us away with how well she’s doing.”<\/p>\n

\"Keira<\/p>\n

Stories about Keira’s family, colours, or animals often feature in her paintings. (ABC News: Marina Trajkovich)<\/p>\n

“It’s been wonderful as a parent to see her grow and gain confidence,” Mr Swan said.<\/p>\n

“She has a bright future, I think.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For 16-year-old Keira Graham, putting colour to canvas has become an outlet for healing and a way to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[11480,110663,64,63,134,207482,41196,167611,304811,304813,304814,304812],"class_list":["post-628875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-art","tag-artwork","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-foster-care","tag-indigenous-art","tag-indigenous-artist","tag-indigenous-dot-painting","tag-keira-graham","tag-netball-uniform","tag-port-macquarie-artist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}