National NAIDOC - Poster Competition Winner

NAIDOC 2007 Poster Competition Winning Entry by Tyeli Hannah.

Tyeli Hannah

Tyeli Hannah is the winner of the 2007 NAIDOC Poster Competition. Tyeli is a graphic designer for VIBE Australia, an Indigenous media company based in Sydney.

Tyeli’s upbringing has an incredible influence on his art and his adult life. Born to a Koori father he has never met and a Polish-Australian mother, Tyeli was adopted at the age of just 13 months to non-Indigenous parents. He believes that although he doesn’t know which mob he belongs to, he still feels very much a part of the Koori community. At the age of 22, Tyeli accredits his appreciation of his Aboriginal heritage to his family. “My family had a lot of Indigenous friends and connections, which helped expose me to the Koori community. I really admire my Mum and Dad for doing such a great job of raising a multi-racial family.”

Tyeli spent much of his childhood on Phillip Island and his adolescence in Melbourne’s St Kilda. Tyeli was often the only Aboriginal student at school and says he got through because he was always comfortable with who he was. Tyeli graduated from Brighton Secondary College in 2003 before studying graphic design at TAFE.

With musicians, singers and performing artists in the family, it’s no surprise Tyeli has found himself in a creative career. In the classroom, Tyeli’s art stood out, although he admits that until now, he had never considered a career as an artist.

In ‘The Path We Lead’, Tyeli references the path towards a future where all Australians have the same standard of living, education, health and employment opportunities. “I’ve narrowed it down to these four things because equality with these basic areas is what we must strive to achieve before we can move onto others”, he says.

Tyeli wants ‘The Path We Lead’ to make Indigenous people realise that the future holds positive things for them. He says, “For me, being Indigenous, I know there are a lot of hard things for us to deal with but there are also a lot of great things and that’s what we need to be remembering as we deal with the negative stuff”.

Tyeli’s positive approach to his culture and his own life has found its way onto the canvas:

“My life has been great and I have been given a lot of great opportunities, which I’ve taken. That’s why I have such a great respect for education, because I’ve seen what it has down for me. It’s the gaining of knowledge that you can use to benefit yourself and your people.”

When asked what Tyeli would like to see for Indigenous Australians over the next fifty years, Tyeli simply replied: “We want a future where our culture and identity is valued and maintained.”

View winning entry as poster - (463kb PDF)

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