KIYA WATT

ABORIGINAL ARTIST AND ADVOCATE

Kiya Watt’s Art journey began when her twin son’s, Allikae and Desean approached her for assistance with their school Naidoc project. Working together they painted and uploaded the completed Artwork. The positive feedback made her reflective and empowered her to connect with her Elders and learn the creation stories, totems and bloodlines she is honoured to belong to. Kiya has always actively been vocal about the issue’s impacting First Nations people with pride installed into her from her father Michael Watt and like her Ancestors feels it is her obligation to keep fighting against Australia’s detrimental systems and discriminatory policies designed to keep Aboriginal people in cycles of disadvantage. Painting has created a new avenue for her to advocate as her success and media coverage has gained her over 45,000 followers Online, she uses her social Media platforms  to create educational  resources and links to campaigns aimed at addressing the ongoing issues First nations people face.

From Artist to  Entrepreneur

Passionate and Empowered, Kiya felt it was a necessary step to develop her Art hobby into a business and further invest and nurture her skill sets. Aiming to Prove Blak self determination is inherently throughout Aboriginal families and communities.

Her business has gained local, national and international exposures through partnerships with brands, charities and even famous television shows

Acknowledgement

She acknowledges her Ancestors past and present for her hard working ethics, creativity, self motivation, time management and confidence in the industry. She states that Aboriginal people are leaders and have always applied these ethics   in their tribes for over 65,000+ years. She believes it is these attributes which have lead her to becoming a multi award winning Entrepreneur

Historical and Assimilating Australian policies have impacted Aboriginal people in detrimental ways leading to inter generational trauma and ongoing issues in Aboriginal communities. Kiya uses her platform to highlight these topics in hopes of raising awareness and educating her followers of the inequality her people face in this present day. She believes Blak perspectives and representations in the media are vital.

BY Podcast Covers Issue 2_Clare

Kiya’s Podcast: Always was, Always will be

  • Her passion for family, art and culture
  • First Nations: loud and proud
  • The joy of being a toy on Playschool
  • How we can truly heal country
  • What bravery means to her

Transcript

 

Rowena Preddy
Kiya, you wear many, many hats in your day to day life. Could you list some of those for our audience?

Kiya Watts
I am a single mama first. And then I also run a business. And then I volunteer and do some other cool stuff within my community. And then I’m also, I’m a founding member of Trading Blak, which is a kind of new development, fighting to stop cultural exploitation.

Rowena Preddy
So you started Trading Blak, as an initiative to help end cultural exploitation, especially within art. Tell us about how it came about and why it’s so important to you.

Kiya Watts
We’re really lucky as Aboriginal business owners online, through our social media, we have like a really tight knit community, and we all help and support each other. And we all would have yarns like I personally had a really bad experience. And I reached out to other black business owners, and we all kind of found that it’s such an issue, and there’s such a gap that isn’t being filled. And Jarin Baigent, who I talked to and share my story to mainly she had a huge network. And we just started this group, just like a private group like messenger chat. And from there Trading Blak grew and was founded, now it’s just kind of really blown up and making huge impact.

Rowena Preddy
The From a graphic designers point of view, the brand is so bold and so edgy and modern, and appeals to such a wide audience yet has very, very strong links to traditional Indigenous art as well. In your own world. How do you traverse that cross section between new and old, contemporary and traditional in your own art?

Kiya Watts
Obviously, with the graphic design and that’s all contemporary, painted physically. When I am doing painting that holds traditional knowledge and kind of sacred stories, I am very transparent with that. I actually only, I don’t paint that much. I am now doing jewellery and stuff, I’ve only done a limited original artworks, and they’re all based around creation stories. So they do hold traditional stories. Contemporary art, I don’t really do too much I do more jewelry based stuff. Whereas when I am actually painting it is quite traditional and holds lots of like sacred storytelling.

Rowena Preddy
And It’s such a great space you’ve built up on Instagram, they’re like, it’s such an engaged audience. And it’s such a fun, yet really, you have an amazing platform to actually address some of the more serious issues as well.

Kiya Watts
Yeah, and that’s the great thing is as all of us as Aboriginal entrepreneurs, we’re all kind of come from different avenues. And we’re located in different sections of Australia. So we do have lots of different perspectives and cover kind of broad issues. And it’s all from community, like we’re in our communities, and we are raising these issues that we face. And I think because there was such a gap, it just grew like I think Yeah, now we’ve just reached over 50,000 followers, which is like massive, and we’ve partnered with Facebook, and now have our online shop. So it’s it has been really positive and amazing.

Rowena Preddy
You can really tell on that space, that there’s just such a cool coming together of all these different people. And it’s such a positive space as well, that you guys have created. And even just on your site, like it’s beautiful just going on there. So you’re actively vocal on the real issues affecting First Nations people, everything from domestic violence and cultural appropriation to political issues and conviction rates and ages, one of the things that are really close to home and I imagine a really wide range of Australians have opinions on this as well. But there was something you were very vocal on, which was Australia Day. In an ideal world, what would you like to see happen to this day.

Kiya Watts
I feel like changing the date, it can seem is such a surface level kind of achievement. Whereas I want to see systemic change, I want to see government policies be removed. And I want a real commitment to just the governance and the policies in place that put us at a disadvantage that are still oppressing us, as First Nation people. So like you said, I am very vocal about many, many kinds of issues impacting us. And that is kind of one issue and it and it’s kind of a movement. Why I stand so heavily behind is because it comes down to the first of our ancestors who were fighting and we’re continuing on with that fight and trying to make change in a holistic way, not just one kind of instance, we want a holistic change within the whole society and the Australian system.

Rowena Preddy
And that’s the thing I feel like so often it’s just kind of wheeled out as that token argument each year where it’s like, No, actually, there’s a lot of other things going on that need to be part of that bigger conversation.

Kiya Watts
Yeah. And I feel like it’s very detrimental when people try and use other issues impacting us as First Nation peoples to take from other issues, it’s like, we should be able to talk about every single issue without another one. So taking from that and saying, Oh, you shouldn’t be focusing on that. Because this is happening. It’s like, we want the space to be able to talk about every single issue without it being canceled or argued that we’re taking up, you know, from a different issue, because we’re out here fighting for all issues and systemic change.

Rowena Preddy
Reconciliation has become like the hot word in recent years. And, yeah, could you give our audience a little bit of an idea of what your hopes are for reconciliation in Australia, in the near future.

Kiya Watts
Us to be in leadership positions, black perspectives to be incorporated into the whole system, down to the curriculums. I want my children to grow up, Whereas I didn’t, feeling like my culture mattered. And you know, I learned Italian when I was growing up, I want my children to be able to go to school and feel proud of themselves and know that their languages are being celebrated and learnt and NAIDOC, Reconciliation week is all incorporated into the curriculum, but also within every system, you know, within every system, even the politics, I want Aboriginal people to have their own political party. I want us to be able to lead in so many different avenues so that we can make real change and that our voices are heard that.

Rowena Preddy
I have to admit, when I moved from New Zealand, it was a huge shock about the issues that were affecting Indigenous in Australia and how it was treated in the media. In New Zealand it’s very, very different how marry cultures treated versus Indigenous and Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander culture here in Australia, it was shocking. Like it really was,

Kiya Watts
I’ve heard that it is so shocking. And even the African population that come here to Australia, they’re so shocked at how First Nations people, how we’re treated and how our voices are always, you know, watered down, and we’re not allowed to lead and our voices are always trying to be navigated. And narratives are trying to be pushed instead of letting us lead. And I feel like a lot of people are starting to recognize that which is great.

Rowena Preddy
I feel like everyone should go and visit a community and actually get off their high horses and stop talking from like, you know, 2000 K’s away and actually really experienced what it’s like, it’s people trying to do the best for people. You are a really positive role model for an upcoming generation. But the thing that honestly blew my mind possibly the most out of all your amazing achievements, like speaking at awards, and all of these things, you’re a toy on Playschool. I was a play school kid. And I remember growing up in New Zealand with the Maori girl that was represented on Playschool, it was very stereotypical, it was you wouldn’t do it these days, when I saw Kiya your character on Playschool, it made me so happy. Can you tell us how it came about? Because I’m really like, quite fascinated by this.

Kiya Watts
It’s so shocking to me still. And it was just a very casual process. Just there was the iIndigenous unit play school. And I did the artwork, and just through collaboration, email and stuff like that. It was just like, yeah, I’ll just do the art for this doll. And then when they actually released her and you know, they asked a few questions about my culture. Normally, they want it to be about representing cultural identity because they already had that toy, the Aboriginal doll, I think his named Jack, but they really wanted to represent that we all have our own cultural identities. So only think when they actually released the doll, and I started getting hundreds of white light radio interviews and phone calls their impact Yeah, hit me too. I was like, What the hell like, you know, when you’re doing it, you just, it’s just like, Okay, I’m just doing some art like, this is really cool. And then after she was released, I got a lot of opportunities. I went over to Playschool and it was so nice and like here is Kiya, here’s your mum and I went I got to go on set. It was just really, really surreal, all of it.

Rowena Preddy
And she’s so cute.

Kiya Watts
I love her. Hope there’s definitely more to come the positive feedback from community and children and I have twin sons who like obviously think, Oh, you know, dolls aren’t cool, but they were like so proud and that really meant so much to me as well, just knowing that children we’re having that perspective and learning that from such a young age.

Rowena Preddy
I think that the next generation is going to grow up more information at the more we have these conversations, the more the next generation becomes inspired to ask new questions.

Kiya Watts
And just that pride, that pride being installed into young black kids and babies, just knowing that the whole of Australia loves you, we appreciate our culture and just understanding the importance of learning our own significant culture and our cultural identities in our community is huge. And not only the Kiya doll, but Playschool’s commitment to bringing in black perspectives, like they are doing so many specials, and they’re really committed to incorporating black perspectives into there shows. So they understand the platform they have, and I’m so proud to have been able to work with them.

 

you know,

Rowena Preddy
People seeing that it’s not just a bandwagon to jump on, specially in this issue. I’ve had so many conversations around diversity, inclusivity, you know, accessibility, all of these things. They’ve become words that are actually part of our everyday lives now versus them becoming something that wasn’t talked about. Nobody knew about it and refused to educate themselves these days, people just by having those questions buzzing around. There’s so much more awareness around these these topics. And the fact that our next generation hopefully grows up questioning everything that makes me proud.

Kiya Watts
I know that just makes me so, so excited.

Rowena Preddy
You grew up on your traditional country where you learn from your elders, about your culture and your stories. Do you have a particular story or memory that has influenced you quite strongly in your life?

Kiya Watts
Definitely, it’s kind there’s a sacred story that my nan and family taught me. And it’s actually my logo, which is the dolphin, the Kwiliena. And because it is sacred, I don’t share it. But it’s something I hold so close to my heart, my nans no longer here. But through my logo, I always want to represent her, I am so lucky that I grew up on my country and in my community. Everything about my brand and business represents that.

Rowena Preddy
Having a strong symbolism and a really strongly grounded why, you can’t go wrong.

Kiya Watts
Every time I’m lucky enough to win an award and I see that logo up there. It’s just like my reminder, it’s definitely really special to have that dolphin and also have the dolphin in my earring range as well.

Rowena Preddy
Now, as a proud Aboriginal woman, what would you say is your biggest driver to keep you going from day to day.

Kiya Watts
Knowing that, from my learned experiences, the importance of me being a leader, and not giving up so that others are inspired, other black children are inspired and see that it can happen black leadership is possible and it’s really important to be vocal and just just feel empowered to be vocal. So that’s definitely what drives me and like I have three proud Mineng children myself, so I want them to always see me reaching for my full potential and demanding respect and honor of my culture.

Rowena Preddy
This year’s naidoc theme is healing country. What does this year’s theme mean to you?

Kiya Watts
I guess in my community, my family has a lot of sacred places that we need to be protected. So it can’t just be a tokenistic heal country. Let’s heal country. It’s about people in positions of power, learning about the sacred places that need to be protected and honoring what it means to heal country. You know, mining companies are blowing up sacred places all over Australia. So it’s really asking for that commitment from people in these positions of power to be able to make change, engage with Aboriginal communities and elders and make sure that these sacred places are being protected. And the work that’s being done by communities is acknowledged, like that’s what I feel like for me how I feel what it represents.

Rowena Preddy
We have a beautiful spot up here in Cairns that a lot of people argue about that, you know, oh, you know, we should all be able to have access. But when you actually learn about the importance all comes back to education. It all comes back to understanding why.

Kiya Watts
When my Nan’s goes to the sacred swamps and tells them why she wants to protected. People want to help her because they just they did not have that understanding. So that’s what it comes down to.

Rowena Preddy
I’ve been to some of these locations before and some of these communities and the important places there as well. You can just feel that spiritual connection even as complete and utter outsider, no matter how many millions of dollars they go on about, you know what they can do with this land and all those sorts of things but the thought of breaking something so intrinsical to the land, and to the people It’s like fuck off with your millions of dollars like no.

Kiya Watts
The history that we all want it to be everyone’s history you know, Aboriginal culture, our stories we want it to be a shared history. So when these like sacred places are destroyed, so are the story and creation lines that have been there for over 60,000 years.

Rowena Preddy
What does brave mean to you?

Kiya Watts
I guess being your authentic self, no matter how uncomfortable others make you feel about it, and just standing true in who you are, as a person, no matter white or black, just be authentic to your belief system. That’s the bravest thing you can do because in this society, you know, we’re raised a certain way or we’re taught to, you know, follow the pack and do that this and that to succeed. But being authentic is just the best way to live. That’s what I believe is braveness.

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