Nikita Ridgeway (born 1986) is a Bundjalung/Biripi tattoo artist and 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

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 tattoo artist and graphic designer,[1] she founded Dreamtime Ink Australia which was the first tattoo company 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

References

  1. 1 2 3 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.
  2. 1 2 Ginibi, Ruby Langford (2007). All My Mob. Univ. of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702235962.
  3. 1 2 "BBC 100 Women 2015: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Nikita Ridgeway, 29, Australia". BBC News. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Artist forges ahead with creative design agency". Cycling. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "2020 National Reconciliation Week". www.indigenous.gov.au. 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Coles shuns coal: supermarket giant vows to source all its electricity from renewables by 2025". the Guardian. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "Australian Apparatus Art: See Wreck Bay's Unique Truck Design". Fire Apparatus. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Ocean, earth and fire trucks: Wreck Bay brigade cheers striking cultural makeover". ABC News. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "Values and Vision | Isle utilities". www.isleutilities.com. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  11. ↑ Foundation, First Nations. "First Nations Foundation launches Indigenous superannuation learning resource | First Nations Foundation". First Nations Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  12. ↑ "Australia's First Aboriginal Record Label Opens in Sydney". VOA. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "Aboriginal rappers on rise in Australia". Reuters. 12 January 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  14. ↑ Nikita Ridgeway NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year Finalist 2016, retrieved 25 November 2021
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