Susan 'Susie' Betts is a First Nations artist, illustrator and cultural advisor. She has ancestral connections to Wirangu, Kokata and Mirning country, community and language groups on the far West coast of South Australia.

Career

Betts' artworks created whilst employed at Balarinji Design Studio include the Nalanji Dreaming design covering a Qantas jet in 1995. She developed the Sweet Water design for an oversized Coca-Cola bottle displayed at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and now in Atlanta Museum. She designed a cultural football guernsey for the Adelaide Crows worn during 2016 for the

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

Indigenous round at the request of her nephew Eddie Betts. Betts has undertaken international research through a Churchill Fellowship in 2018 exploring the Seven Sisters ( Pleiades) constellation and creation stories ( Tjukurpa) across Indigenous cultures in Australia and overseas. As a part of this fellowship she was able to visit the Elliston and

Streaky Bay Streaky the Supercat is a fictional superhero cat that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #261 (February 1960) and was created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. He is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Su ...

areas which had been taboo to her people for many years; this was possible after a ceremony acknowledging the

Waterloo Bay massacre The Waterloo Bay massacre, also known as the Elliston massacre, was a clash between European settlers and Aboriginal Australians that took place on the cliffs of Waterloo Bay near Elliston, South Australia, in late May 1849. Part of the Austra ...

and what had been lost. Betts said of this: As of 2024, Betts is a Board member of

Country Arts SA Country Arts SA is statutory corporation created by the South Australian government under the provisions of the ''South Australian Country Arts Trust Act (1992)'', for the purpose of delivering arts to regional South Australia. Responsibility for ...

and part of their First Nations Advisory Committee.

Selected works

Children's books * ''Warna-Manda Baby Earth Walk'' (2021) by Susan Betts and Mandy Foot * ''Lullabies for Bed Time'' (2017) by Susan Betts,

Phil Cummings Phil Cummings is a South Australian children's fiction author. Born in Port Broughton, his first book, "Goodness Gracious", was published in 1989.Heuzenroeder, Catherine (1 July 2012).Children's author draws from book of life. ABC RiverRetrieved ...

, Mike Dumbleton, Katrina Germein and Louise Pike * ''It's Bed Time'' (2009) by Katrina Germein,

, Susan Betts and Tania Cox

Awards

* The Gladys Elphick awards - Quiet Achiever award in 2016. * Churchill Trust Fellowship in 2018. * Shortlisted in 2022 for The Wilderness Society Karajia Award for Children’s Literature for her picture book ''Warna-Manda Baby Earth Walk,'' written and illustrated by Susan Betts with co-illustrator Mandy Foot.

References

External links

Susan Betts on Austlit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Susan Australian illustrators Australian Aboriginal artists Artists from South Australia 20th-century Australian women artists Australian children's book illustrators Year of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian women children's writers