Eva Knowles Johnson (born 1946) is an Aboriginal Australian poet, actor, director and playwright.

Early life

Eva Knowles Johnson belongs to the Malak Malak people and was born in 1946 at Daly River in the Northern Territory. At the age of two, Johnson was taken from her mother and placed on a Methodist Mission on

Croker Island Croker Island is an island in the Arafura Sea off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia, northeast of Darwin. It was the site of the Croker Island Mission between 1940 and 1968. Indigenous peoples At the earliest time of European co ...

and at the age of 10 was transferred to an orphanage in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Career

Johnson worked as an enrolled nurse and studied community development at the South Australian Institute of Technology and a degree in Aboriginal studies at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. Johnson has worked as a poet, actor, director, playwright and teacher. She began writing in 1979. Her first poem became the title of the first play ever produced by Black Theatre in Adelaide, ''When I Die You'll All Stop Laughing''. Johnson contributed to the representation of Aboriginal women on the stage. Johnson's writing addresses themes of cultural identity, Aboriginal Australian women's rights, the stolen generation, land rights, slavery, sexism and homophobia. Johnson played the part of Alice Wilson (credited as Eva Birrit) in the fourth segment of the 1981 award-winning series ''

Women of the Sun ''Women of the Sun'' is an Australian historical drama television miniseries that was broadcast on SBS Television and later the Australian Broadcasting Company in 1981. The series, co-written by Sonia Borg and Hyllus Maris, was composed of four ...

''. In 1984 Johnson directed the first Aboriginal Women's Art Festival in

and wrote a play for the festival entitled ''Tjindarella''. The play examined the oppression of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

and highlighted the effects of government policy on the forced removal of children from their parents and culture. ''Tjindarella'' was also performed at the

Adelaide Fringe Festival The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

in 1984. Johnson was writer/director of the first

National Black Playwrights Conference Brian Gregory Syron (19 November 1934 – 14 October 1993) was an actor, teacher, Aboriginal rights activist, stage director and Australia's first Indigenous feature film director, who has also been recognised as the first First Nations feature ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, 1987, from which the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust was developed. In 1989 Johnson's play ''Mimini's Voices'' was produced by Magpie Theatre in Adelaide and later restaged in 1990 as part of the Hiroshima Arts festival in Japan where it won the Festival Peace Prize awarded by the Lord Mayor of Hiroshima. Johnson continued to write plays into the 1990s, with titles including ''Heart Beat of the Earth'', ''Two Bob in the Quid'', ''What Do They Call Me'' and ''Mimini's Voices''. She has received a number of awards for her work. She is still living in Adelaide today and continues her work as a guest speaker at various educational institutions.

Awards

* In 1985 Johnson was awarded the Aboriginal Artist of the Year Award.The Academy literature and Drama website
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Australia Council for the Arts

The

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

is the arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. Since 1993, it has awarded a

Red Ochre Award The Red Ochre Award is an annual art award for Indigenous Australian artists. Background and description The Red Ochre Award was established in 1993 by the Australia Council for the Arts. It is awarded annually to an outstanding Indigenous Au ...

. It is presented to an outstanding Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander) artist for lifetime achievement. , - , 1993Red Ochre Award
, herself , Red Ochre Award , , -

Works

*A letter to my mother *When I Die You'll All Stop Laughing *Faded Genes *Mimini's Voices *Murras *Onward To Glory *Tjindarella *What do they call me *Heartbeat of the Earth

References

External links

*
Eva Johnson
Enciclopedia delle donne * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Eva 1946 births Living people Australian indigenous rights activists Women human rights activists Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian feminist writers Indigenous Australian feminists