Ku Arts Reconciliation Week 2025 Statement - Artist Spotlight on Shania Richards

On behalf of the Board, staff, and communities of Ananguku Arts and Cultural Aboriginal Corporation (Ku Arts), we acknowledge and honour Reconciliation Week 2025 as a time to reflect, to listen, and to act.

This year’s theme calls all Australians to move beyond symbolism and into meaningful action. For Ku Arts, reconciliation means walking together with respect—amplifying First Nations voices, strengthening culture, and supporting self-determined futures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

As South Australia’s peak Aboriginal Community Controlled organisation for First Nations artists, art centres and artsworkers, Ku Arts works every day to uphold the power of cultural expression as a path to healing, truth-telling, and equity. From the desert to the sea, we stand alongside artists, art centres, and communities whose stories and practices are central to Australia’s cultural landscape.

This week, we invite our partners, audiences and broader communities to celebrate the strength and resilience of Aboriginal artists, to reflect on the history that shapes us, and to commit to genuine partnerships grounded in truth, justice and respect.

Reconciliation is not a single act, but a shared journey. Ku Arts remains steadfast in our role to champion this journey through art, culture, and connection.

This year, Ku Arts has chosen to mark Reconciliation Week by profiling a number of our artists and art centres, sharing their reflections on what reconciliation means to them and how culture, art, and community continue to lead the way forward.

What’s your name and who are your mob?

My name is Shania Janet Shayne Richards Dimer, and I’m a proud Wongutha, Ndjagu, Mirning, Barngarla, and Gubrun person with strong ties to both Port Lincoln, South Australia and Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. My connection to Country and culture is at the heart of who I am and guides everything I do.

Tell us a bit about your art practice:

My art practice blends cultural storytelling with contemporary expression — I work across mediums like painting, digital art, mixed media, writing, performance, and illustration. A lot of my work explores identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and healing. As an Autistic and Schizoaffective artist, I share how we experience the world differently and how culture, community, and creativity can help us heal. Through my practice and my business ‘Nerdy Indigenous Art,’ I aim to uplift our mob, revive language, and create safer spaces for expression — especially for young people and those living with trauma or mental health challenges.

What does this year’s Reconciliation theme ‘Bridging Now to Next’ mean to you?

 This year’s Reconciliation Week theme, ‘Bridging Now to Next,’ reflects how our stories are never just in the past — they live in us, guide us today, and shape how we move forward. For me, it’s about truth-telling, honouring our old people, and making space for the next generations to thrive. It’s also about reclaiming our places in systems that weren’t built for us and building new ones that centre First Nations voices and futures. 

Who is your favourite artist and why?

My favourite artists are Albert and Vincent Namatjira — their work carries strength, history, and a powerful connection to Country and storytelling. I’m also deeply inspired by my late grandfather, Neil Sydney Dimer (RIP), who was a talented artist and a big influence on my life. My mum, Belinda Dimer, and my dad, Clarence Richards, are both creative and strong in their own ways — they’ve shaped my understanding of resilience, culture, and expression. My siblings are also a huge inspiration — their creativity, humour, and strength as humans constantly uplift me. Outside of family, I’m always inspired by First Nations creators who use their art to challenge systems, tell the truth, and carve out space for healing. The everyday artists in our communities — the elders, aunties, uncles, cousins, and young ones — are keeping our culture alive in powerful and beautiful ways I am lucky and grateful to experience.