John Harding: multi-talented indigenous artist

To describe indigenous artist John Harding, "poet", "playwright" and "bureaucrat" are some of the words. His works includes radio plays "Blackman and Sobbin" and "Land Rights Rally"; theatre play "Up the Road", teleplays of some episodes of the TV series "Lift Off", poetry "John Harding's Little Black Book of Poems", to name just a few. Recently John has won this year's Ruth Adney Koorie Award (the RAKA Award), which honoured national indigenous playwright of the year.

In front of the camera John worked on SBS as a reporter on "ICAM", while behind the camera he is the National Aboriginal Employment Co-ordinator for the Australian Film Commission, ensuring workplaces for indigenous people in the Australian film industry. In the area of ministration he has been the Senior Project Officer for Aboriginal Education in Victoria and a ministerial adviser for the Victorian Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Now living in Sydney, John believes most of the great storytellers in Australia are indigenous people because they need to tell great stories to remember due to the limits of resources. As a succeed himself, John also believes writing in prose - commonly believed as a "white domain" - is an evolving area of creative expression among indigenous people.

In his interview with Vincent O'Donnell, John talked about how he came into the art through writing from a disadvantaged background. (Note: weblinks updated)

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