Sharyn Egan (born 1957) is a

Nyoongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

artist known for her work in painting, sculpture, weaving and . Based in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, Western Australia, Egan's works are held in the collections of the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

and the

Berndt Museum of Anthropology The Berndt Museum of Anthropology is an anthropological museum in Perth, Western Australia, founded in by Ronald Berndt and Catherine Berndt. It is currently, , located with the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery on the western side of the Univers ...

, and she has created artworks for the

Perth International Arts Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

Early life

Egan was born in 1957 in

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner-Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. H ...

. One of the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

, she was removed from her family at age three and placed in the New Norcia Mission until the age of 13. She was never reunited with her parents. In 2007 she was one of the authors of a book on Australian art ''In the Mean Time''. In 2018 she was working with other artists on work that was to be based at the

Blacktown Native Institution Site The Blacktown Native Institution Site is the heritage-listed site of a former residential institution for Aboriginal and Māori children in the City of Blacktown, part of the Greater Sydney metropolitan area in Australia. The site is located a ...

. The institution was responsible for educating

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

and Aboriginal children who had been taken, like Egan, from their families.

Education

Egan reentered education at the age of 37 when she enrolled to study for a diploma at what is now the

Central Institute of Technology Central Institute of Technology was a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institution based in Perth, Western Australia until 2016, at which point it became a part of North Metropolitan TAFE. It was the equal oldest post-secondary education ...

. This took her from 1994 to 1998 in Perth and she then set out to gain an associate degree in art. This was completed by the millennium and the following year she received a graduate degree from Perth's

Curtin University of Technology Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister ...

. Since then she has gone onto take post graduate qualifications in Cultural Tourism and Training and Assessment which she had completed by 2008.

Respect, Recognition and Reconciliation

Egan has worked for many years in Fremantle, WA, making outdoor artworks, walks, interactive workshops and exhibitions in galleries such as Fremantle Art Centre. In 2023

City of Fremantle The City of Fremantle is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district. History ...

gave in principle support for a proposed public artwork in Kings Square by Egan and Simon Gilby, entitled Respect, Recognition and Reconciliation. They intend to invite 14 Noongar clans to share stones from their communities for the installation, which will also reference Noongar constellations and origin stories.

Exhibitions

*2023 - Sculpture at Bathers - Balga, three works made from straw, thread and synthetic wool, installed outdoors at Cottesloe Beach *2023 - ''Boorongur , Totem'' ''-'' interactive exhibition across Gallery 9 of the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

exploring multi-species relationships and care for environments where human and non-human species cohabit. *2022 - Sculpture at Bathers - Outdoor sculpture *2022 - ''Barangga Yarn'' - in conversation with Beau James at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

*2018 ''Walyalup Water Walk'' a sensory walking tour in collaboration with Mei Saraswati and Matt Aiken featuring Koondarm Choir for

. *2016 Woven sculptures for

Sculpture by the Sea The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture Art exhibition, exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas ...

, Perth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Sharyn Living people 1957 births Noongar people Artists from Western Australia 20th-century Australian sculptors 21st-century Australian sculptors 20th-century Australian painters 21st-century Australian painters Curtin University alumni Indigenous Australian artists Artists from Perth, Western Australia Members of the Stolen Generations 20th-century Australian women painters 21st-century Australian women painters 20th-century Australian women sculptors 21st-century Australian women sculptors