ARTIST BIO

Narmada Smith was born in Sydney in 1950 and is currently based in Lismore on the North Coast of New South Wales, where she maintains an active studio practice. She holds a Diploma of Fine Arts from the National Art School (1996), a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney (2002), and a Master of Fine Arts from COFA, UNSW (2006). Her graduate research included an intensive field-based drawing residency at Broken Hill through the ILIRI program. She has conducted independent studio research in Sydney, London and Mumbai.

Smith has exhibited widely across Australia over three decades. Her solo exhibitions include shows at Lismore Regional Gallery (2026), Flinders Street Gallery, Darlinghurst (2009, 2023), Sheffer Gallery, Darlington (2011), Mary Place, Paddington (2012), and Graphic Art Gallery, Bondi Junction (2006). She has been selected for the Sulman Art Prize (1996), the Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize — where she was Highly Commended (1998) — and the Mosman Art Prize (2007, 2025).

Alongside her studio practice, Smith has pursued an extensive curatorial project promoting Warli Indian tribal art in Australia, staging six exhibitions between 2005 and 2015 at venues including Ray Hughes Gallery, Cross Art Projects, Damien Minton Gallery, and Coo-ee Gallery. Her work has been reviewed in Art Monthly Australia (2009) and the Sydney Morning Herald (2009, 2011). She has participated in the ILIRI field research residency at Broken Hill and conducted research visits to art institutions in London, including Goldsmiths.