About

Munganbana Norman Miller travelled to Chicago USA May 2016 to collect an award for his coffee table art book Reef and Rainforest: An Aboriginal Voice Through Art and Story. It is the International Independent Publishers Award (IPPY) in the Multicultural Adult Non-Fiction category.

The ACCOR Hotels group wanted a plaque to acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal owners of Cairns, the Gimuy Walubarra Yidinji people. Henrietta Marrie of this tribe presented a photo of their King Ye-i-nie, her forebear, to accompany the plaque. Munganbana Norman Miller, who is of the Tableland Yidinji tribe had the honour of having his painting on the plaque. It is the Dolphin Turtle and Starfish Reef Triptych.

With the Tabernacle of David band, Norman has produced an album where he has written some of the songs, is the lead singer and plays the clapsticks. The album is called Reconciliation and the key song on it is called Reconciliation.

Munganbana’s art and book were very popular at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) 2016, a prestigious art exhibition attracting international interest. He is pictured here signing his book with his IPPY Award medal around his neck.

Munganbana’s artwork Rain Showers was used on a poster by Catholic Education Services on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

The Creative Types article from The Cairns Post features his solo art exhibition at UMI Arts in Cairns in 2015.

Norman Miller is listed in the Queensland edition of Who’s Who. The story is covered in “A Life Reconciled” in The Cairns Eye 2008. 

Munganbana presented the painting From Sorry to Journey of Healing to former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, MP as a thank you for his 13 February 2008 Apology to Indigenous Australians for removing children from their families and putting them in institutions where some were abused.

Presenting a painting called Shaping History into Place to Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center Israel. It commemorated the Australian Lighthorse charge at the Battle of Beersheba (Beer Sheva) 1917

Munganbana won the inaugural Oceania Art Prize in the open section for his painting I Carried My Sons and Daughters.

Norman at the Hamburg Museum Contemporary Australian Visions Gallery exhibition 1992 with Violet Sheno2

Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art from Queensland Australia. Southport, Qld: Keeaira Press 2001 and his  work was in the Gatherings Exhibition 2001 for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Brisbane

Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest Qld Art Gallery 2003.

Eglitis, Anna, Arone Meeks and Ken Thaiday (eds) Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art: Now Days, Early Days – Art Works and Legends Rockhampton, Qld: Central Qld Uni Press 2000.

Demozay, Marion (ed.) Gatherings 11 Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art from Queensland Australia. Southport, Qld: Keeaira Press 2006.