Kirli Saunders OAM

Kirli Saunders OAM's Biography

Kirli Saunders (OAM) is a proud Gunai Woman and award-winning multidisciplinary artist and consultant. An experienced speaker and facilitator advocating for the environment and equality, Kirli was the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year (2020).

In 2022, she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to the arts, particularly literature. She’s partnered with global organisations, Google, Vogue, Fender, Qantas and Aesop to celebrate stories and cultivate change.

From the Sydney Opera House to the Australian Consulate in Mumbai, Corporate to community, Gunai Woman Kirli Saunders (OAM) has had experience speaking, facilitating, and teaching across a multitude of stages and settings. Kirli is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, writer, singer-songwriter and consultant with a passion for enlivening spaces and engaging broad audiences in bold conversations for social impact.

Through her multidisciplinary work as a writer, artist, and consultant, Kirli Saunders aims to connect people, promote First Nations culture, and advocate for social and environmental change.

Kirli’s books, Returning, Bindi, Kindred, The Incredible Freedom Machines, Our Dreaming, The Land Recalls You (Scholastic 2024) and her most recent release, a children’s picture book, Afloat (Hardie Grant), have been celebrated by the Prime Ministers, QLD, WA, Victorian Premier’s, Adelaide Festival, Kate Challis RAKA, ABDA, ABIA and CBCA awards. Her forthcoming titles include her poetry collection, Eclipse (JOAN, 2025). She is currently writing her anticipated novel, Yarraman.

Kirli’s play Going Home, assisted by Australian Plays Transforms x Merrigong Theater and directed by Shari Sebbens, will undergo a second development in ‘24.

Her award-winning films, including Cry of the Glossy (Grassland Films) and Wallflowers and Evergreens (Tad Souden), have been shown worldwide at film and literary festivals.

Her work has been commissioned and exhibited by galleries nationwide and shortlisted in sculptural prizes and projects. Most recently commissioned by Transport NSW and Denver Zoo, USA. She was a collaborating artist for VIVID ‘22, with TRACES alongside Kamsani Bin Salleh, Google, Magabala and Sydney Opera House. Her drone installation, Buungbaa-ma-ndhu (rise as the sun) all of you, was commissioned in 2023 by Fremantle Biennale x Ngununggula Gallery for First Lights. Her solo exhibition Returning (SHAC, 2021) was assisted by Creative Aus.

Kirli holds a Bachelor in Education (Hons) (UOW) and facilitates DEI workshops for corporate, government, art and education projects with significant experience in cultural liaison. She created Poetry in First Languages, Returning and Re[ad]generate, delivered in partnership with many First Nations collaborators and industry partners. Kirli helped shape the CreateNSW Aboriginal Arts Culture Protocols, is a Merrigong’s First Nations Advisory Group member and is a founding board member for First Nations Place Names.

As a singer-songwriter, Kirli was commissioned by ABC Classic to write Summer Together, composed by Elena Kats-Chernin for the Sydney Philharmonia Choir. She performed backing vocals for Jack River’s 2023 Like a Version (Triple J). She is currently recording her first album with Mark Harding in their indie folk duo, Cooee.

Kirli has experience in live television broadcasts and been Master of Ceremonies, Keynote speaker, chair and panellist for Government and Corporate events across a range of settings.

In 2022, Kirli Saunders took to the runway with First Nations Fashion and Design for Australian Afterpay Fashion Week. She has modelled for Seed, Witchery, and Zoe Kratzmann and partnered with a range of brands including Spotify, Mecca and Qantas.

Her past clients has included Mecca, Google, Qantas, AESOP, Spotify, Guardian, NSW Dept of Premier & Cabinet, Reconciliation Aus, Sydney Opera House, State Library NSW & Vic, Stella Prize, Sydney / Melbourne / Auckland / QLD Writers Festivals, Red Room Poetry and various galleries in NSW & WA.

To enquire about Kirli Saunders for your next event contact Helene Greenham – helene@platinumspeakers.com.au