Jessie Waratah

Jessie Waratah was born in Sydney’s Inner West. She is a proud Murri woman with ancestral ties to Mungindi and the Gamilaraay Nation. Jessie’s strongest cultural influences are from close family and Elders, and from her Warlpiri family who together have raised her since she was born, and who continue to pass down knowledge and teachings about culture.

Since leaving school, Jessie has worked as a freelance artist creating commissioned and public artworks, while also working in places of education running workshops and co-creating murals with First Nations students and Elders. Many of Jessie’s public artworks include references to native plants and animals and local landscapes, including Goolay’yari, the Cooks River. In her private work, Jessie explores themes of connection and identity, as well as styles inspired by her aunties and father. Using multiple mediums, Jessie strives to honour all that she has been taught, and to give back to her community at every opportunity.