Art Painting Mentor: Saretta Fielding

Saretta Fielding is a renowned Wonnarua artist and designer with a deep connection to her Indigenous culture, Country, and community. Her journey in Indigenous art, culture, and Country has been extensive, spanning both her roles as an artist and a commercial designer. As a proud Indigenous woman, Saretta's cultural identity is intricately woven into every aspect of her fine artworks and designs, which showcase the unique culture of Australia's First Nations peoples.

Through her corporate and private commissions, Saretta creates artworks that serve to strengthen her connection to her Country and people while also sharing her culture with others. She believes that each artwork is a way of making a connection to those who curate and collect her works, regardless of their cultural background or location. This passion for authentic, engaging, and thoughtprovoking artwork has garnered Saretta a fanbase that spans the globe.

Saretta's love of art began during her childhood, when she experimented with different art mediums and techniques. Her fascination with the challenge of using art to convey contemporary influencessuch as the challenges facing her community, the beauty of nature, and the experiences of life - has remained a constant throughout her career.

Saretta's main medium is sand-based media and millennia-old engraving techniques which pay homage to traditional Wonnarua sand engravings still found throughout the Hunter region in New South Wales, Australia. Each highly textured piece embodies the enduring style, designs, and totems of ancient engravings, adding a striking dimension to her contemporary works.

However, Saretta's work is not just about creating beautiful art. It's also about promoting economic inclusion for Aboriginal communities through art. She's committed to supporting initiatives in the arts that contribute to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. In 2016, Saretta Art and Design established the Malang Indigenous Corporation, a not-for-profit organisation that champions social investment in Indigenous communities by nurturing and supporting emerging and established Indigenous artists and designers nationwide.

Creating a platform for Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians to move forward together is a high priority for Saretta. She believes that art has the power to bring people together and create a shared understanding of culture, history, and identity. Through her artwork and initiatives, Saretta has forged a strong path into the international and Australian art scene with heart and soul that is visible and intentional in every art piece that she creates.

Through her initiatives and collaborations, she is creating a more inclusive art community which values the contributions and perspectives of Indigenous artists.

With her talent and dedication, Saretta has established herself as a trailblazer in the international and Australian art scene, and her impact on the art world will undoubtedly continue to grow in the years to come.

Written by LARA LUPISH