Nikita Ridgeway
Nikita Ridgeway (born 1986) is a Bundjalung/Biripi graphic designer from Australia, who was awarded the a BBC 100 Women Award in 2015 in recognition of her entrepreneurial work and advocacy for Aboriginal graphic design.
Biography[edit]
Ridgeway was born in 1986 belongs to the Bundjalung and Biripi peoples.[1] Her parents are Steven and Dianne Ridgeway; her grandmother was the historian and writer, Ruby Langford Ginibi.[2] She attended Blacktown Girls' High School, and was the first Koori to be the school captain.[2]
A graphic designer,[1] she founded Dreamtime Ink Australia which is a social media account specialising in Aboriginal tattoo art in Australia.[3] She also owns Boss Lady Creative Design Agency, which specialises in Aboriginal graphic design.[4][5] In 2020 Ridgeway created artwork used in National Reconciliation Week.[1][6]
In 2021 she created the brand for Coles' Supermarkets renewable energy initiative.[7] Also in 2021 she created indigenous artwork used to decorate two fire trucks used by Wreck Bay (Australia) Rural Fire Brigade.[8] The brigade is owned and managed by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council.[9] Ridgeway has also worked on a variety of state-wide, national and international commissions, including the logo design for Sydney Water's Innovation Festival in 2021 and with the First Nations Foundation on a superannuation toolkit.[9][10][11]
Ridgeway also established Australia's first indigenous hip-hop record label with her brother Stephen.[12] Called Redfern Records, the label was named after the Sydney neighbourhood of Redfern they grew up in.[13]
Awards[edit]
- BBC 100 Women (2015)[3]
- NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year Finalist (2016)[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Ridgeway, Nikita. "In this together : National Reconciliation Week 2020 : 27 May - 3 June - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)". aiatsis.library.link. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ a b Ginibi, Ruby Langford (2007). All My Mob. Univ. of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702235962.
- ^ a b "BBC 100 Women 2015: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Nikita Ridgeway, 29, Australia". BBC News. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Artist forges ahead with creative design agency". Cycling. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "2020 National Reconciliation Week". www.indigenous.gov.au. 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Coles shuns coal: supermarket giant vows to source all its electricity from renewables by 2025". the Guardian. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Australian Apparatus Art: See Wreck Bay's Unique Truck Design". Fire Apparatus. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Ocean, earth and fire trucks: Wreck Bay brigade cheers striking cultural makeover". ABC News. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Values and Vision | Isle utilities". www.isleutilities.com. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ Foundation, First Nations. "First Nations Foundation launches Indigenous superannuation learning resource | First Nations Foundation". First Nations Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Australia's First Aboriginal Record Label Opens in Sydney". VOA. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Aboriginal rappers on rise in Australia". Reuters. 12 January 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ Nikita Ridgeway NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year Finalist 2016, retrieved 25 November 2021