She feels most rewarded by being involved in projects that showcase the underlying psychology of the buildings, and that hold a lot of meaning and importance for the community who are going to use them. Page was also a design judge on the ABC program The New Inventors for eight years. She worked as a consultant on an impressive range of projects including designing interiors for public buildings, exhibition spaces for museums, the Opening Ceremony for the Adelaide Festival of the Arts and the Bayagul Indigenous gallery at the Powerhouse Museum. Page was able to successfully weigh up the needs of the client and the needs of the government, leading to compromises and resolutions required to complete the project.įrom the year 2000 to 2008 Page ran her own design practice. Its colonial structure was problematic for the Aboriginal people because they felt they were turning their backs on the Darling River, a sacred source of life for their people.

One of the most important projects Page has worked on is the Wilcannia Hospital redevelopment northwest of Sydney. For this reason they also believe in maximum community involvement in the design, construction and management of all projects. Merrima is staffed by Indigenous people and is committed to promoting self-determination for Aboriginal people by assisting them to express their culture through the built environments they live in. She worked as an associate of the Merrima Aboriginal Design Unit from 1995-1999, an architectural practice in the Government’s Architects Office in Sydney. Post-graduation, she searched for a way to utilise her skills in the most meaningful way possible to create interiors that had a real connection to the environment and the people who used them. After growing up in Coffs Harbour in northern NSW, she went on to study at the University of Technology, Sydney. Alison Page is an award winning creative at the forefront of contemporary Australian Aboriginal design.Īs a descendent of the Walbanga and Wadi Wadi people of the Yuin nation, she champions the creative expression of Aboriginal identity.

Alison page designer