Melissa Henry is a Contemporary Aboriginal artist located on the South East coast of NSW, on Yuin Country. She is a descendant of the Weilwan people of North West NSW from her father’s heritage. Melissa also has Irish heritage from her mother. She was raised in Sydney NSW, on Tharawal Country until moving south in her early twenties.
Melissa lives on Country in the bush with her family and Yindi the Kelpie. She draws her inspiration from her surroundings, her elders and ancestors.
Her life experiences, emotions, feelings and the many natural objects found on Country allow her art to flourish naturally.
Her motivation to paint is to raise awareness and understanding of Aboriginal history and the struggles that can be tied with it. She cares for country to help protect it for our future generations to come, allowing our culture to survive and thrive.
She hopes that her art inspires people to seek out the abundance of Knowledge, beauty and healing qualities that our culture has to offer. This shines brightly through her work.
Milumba is the word for Shine in the local Dhurga language on Yuin Country.
"We all have the ability to shine"
Artist Melissa Henry.
Melissa has a background in Student Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education support and mentoring and Early Childcare Education.
Melissa studied Cultural Arts 2022-2023
National Contemporary Art Prize finalist 2024
We would like to pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We recognise the strength, wisdom and resilience of all Aboriginal People past, present and emerging. We will continue to follow our Elders and be guided by their wisdom. We ask that we all come together and support the health and wellbeing of all living beings.