PA/01/2026 02 February 2026
Weaving Living Traditions: Australian First Nations Artist Grace Lillian Lee to present her work - The Winds of Guardians - in India
Australian First Nations artist, designer and cultural advocate Grace Lillian Lee will be presenting her work at the India Art Fair 2026.
Drawing on her Indigenous heritage, Lee’s practice explores themes of identity, Country, sustainability and indigenous sovereignty through a contemporary lens. A descendant of the Miriam Mer Semsep people of the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait, Lee was introduced to the art of traditional weaving from a young age – knowledge that continues to shape her practice today.
Lee will present The Winds of Guardians at the India Art Fair, a body of work comprising four structural forms - North Winds, South Winds, East Winds, and West Winds - along with a ceremonial Dreamweaver mask. These works address wind as both material force and metaphor: an agent of movement, memory, and transmission. Deeply rooted in Lee’s belief of ancestors and wind- spirits from Torres Strait Islands, her works are constructed using cotton webbing, cotton twine, cane, mirror acrylic, and electrical rubber shrink tubing.
Australia’s High Commissioner to India Philip Green said, “Grace’s presentation at the India Art Fair reflects Australia’s strong commitment to showcasing First Nations culture and creative excellence in India. Rooted in tradition yet unmistakably contemporary, Grace’s work demonstrates how ancestral knowledge continues to inform and inspire new artistic expression.”
Grace’s presence at the India Art Fair will offer Indian audiences an opportunity to engage closely with Australia’s First Nations perspectives through art and design.
Speaking about her visit, Grace Lillian Lee said: “India’s rich history of craft, textiles and storytelling is inspiring, and I am honoured to share my work here through conversations on Indigenous knowledge and cultural exchange. As a proud Miriam Mer Sampsep woman my practice honours my ancestors. By reviving traditional weaving techniques, I aim to preserve our cultural narratives and celebrate the guardians of our heritage, weaving dreams that connect our past to the future."
As part of her India visit, Lee will participate in a series of curated engagements, including an in-conversation with Raw Mango Founder Sanjay Garg, facilitated by High Commissioner Green.
Grace’s work will also be exhibited in a subsequent show at the National Crafts Museum, allowing wider public dialogue between Indigenous Australian and Indian artistic practices.
These cultural initiatives reflect the crucial place of First Nations stories at the centre of Australia’s arts and culture. Recent initiatives include the Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters exhibition at the Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site Museum, and last year’s Kirikin fashion showcase - highlighting the diversity, strength and relevance of Indigenous Australian creativity.
About Grace Lillian Lee:
Born in Cairns in 1988, Grace Lillian Lee is a Torres Strait Islander, Indigenous Australian designer, artist, advocate, and the founder of First Nations Fashion + Design (FNFD), a national platform dedicated to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives through sustainable pathways into the fashion industry. A descendant of the Miriam Mer Semsep people of the Eastern Islands of the Torres Strait, Lee is shaping the landscape of Australian fashion by cantering First Nations culture and talent. In 2010 Lee graduated in Fashion Design at RMIT University in Melbourne and is now recognised as Australia’s leading Indigenous artists and fashion designers. Lee is deeply interested in exploring relationships between contemporary fashion, design, traditional cultures and communities, and she is particularly focused on exploring and declaring her cultural connection to Torres Strait Island traditions in contemporary ways. In 2024, Lee produced a series of her body sculptures in collaboration with fashion designer, Jean Paul Gaultier, where she was handpicked to interpret his archive through her distinct lens, creating woven couture pieces that celebrated cultural lineage and innovation. The designs were exhibited in Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show at the Brisbane Festival. Lee has exhibited extensively in Australia and overseas and her work is represented in major collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; and Cairns Art Gallery, Queensland, Paris with Support from Zimmerman Foundation. In 2025, she was recognised by BOF 500. For more information: https://www.gracelillianlee.com/