Arone Raymond Meeks (1957-2021)
Arone Meeks was a Kuku Midigi man. He grew up in Yarrabah and El Arish, Mission Beach, Far North Queensland, although his country is the area around Laura, Cape York. Arone was a Founding Member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative.
Arone Meeks had both a traditional and formal education, having been taught by his grandfather and other relatives before going to study at the City Art Institute in Sydney. He later returned to Queensland to study with various tribal elders, including those of the Lardil people of Mornington Island.
Meeks valued this combination of training and experience; his work employs both traditional images and themes arising out of his concern with the issues of Land Rights, Sexuality, Cultural Values and Belonging to Place. Arone won an Australia Council Fellowship to study in Paris and went on to exhibit throughout Europe and North and South America.