Jack Wilkie-Jans | |
---|---|
Born | Jack Andrew Jans August 8, 1992 Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
Nationality | Australian |
Other names | Jack Jans |
Citizenship | Australian and British |
Alma mater | James Cook University |
Occupation(s) | Artist, journalist, political affairs commentator |
Awards | Alumni National Gallery of Australia's Wesfarmer's Indigenous Arts Leadership Program, Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society |
Website | www |
Jack Andrew Jans or Jack Wilkie-Jans is an Australian Aboriginal affairs advocate, multi-disciplinary artist (painter and award-winning filmmaker), writer, and politologist.
Born in Cairns/Gimuy in tropical Far North Queensland, Jack is a Waanyi, Teppathiggi and Tjungundji man and is of mixed heritage (British, Vanuatuan, Danish).
In recent years Jack's work as an Aboriginal affairs advocate has increased as both a political commentator and journalist. Known for his commentary of Cape York Peninsula issues, economic development in remote regions and contemporary Indigenous affairs, he is known at times for his controversy in critiquing long-standing Government programmes and their approach to Indigenous peoples. [1] [2] He is perhaps most known for lobbying against ineffective Native Title representation "punitive measures" such as the Alcohol Management Plans & Welfare Reform Trials in Cape York Peninsula (a region known for high unemployment), arguing that focus ought to be placed on addressing solutions to the issues of economic ostracisation and welfare dependency. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
In 2014 Jack became one of the youngest board members to be elected to Cape York Sustainable Futures Inc. which was Cape York's peak organisation for economic & community development (formerly known as Cape York Peninsula Development Association); and as Deputy Chair of then-Local Tourism Organisation: Tourism Cape York. [10] [11] In 2018 Jack stood down as Deputy Chair of the organisation and resigned from the board. Though, he remains a keen advocate for the economic advancement of the Cape York Peninsula region in his long-standing work as a writer and journalist.[ citation needed ]
In 2023 Jack launched his private consultancy practice, JWJ Consultancy covering a scope of strategy and policy planning within the Indigenous art sector of the Australian arts industry; including artist representation. [12]
Jack is a recognised arts writer, writing for a number of major arts publications, enjoying a regular column (since 2023) with Koori Mail,[ citation needed ] as a freelance contributor to ArtsHub. [13] and occasional contributor to Art Collector.[ citation needed ]
A successful visual artist, his film work has also enjoyed industry recognition (winning the Best Experimental Film of the Understory Film Festival awards in 2020 for his short film I'm Still Here).[ citation needed ]
Linking to his early background in Cape York Peninsula, Jack is also passionate about the development of First Nations-led native food business development and manufacturing. In 2022, he became an founding director of the Food Beverage Institute. [14]
Notable relatives of Jack include Aboriginal leader, Jean Aileen Little (his maternal grandmother), [15] as well as renowned Australian sculptor & ceramicist, the late Dr. Thancoupie Fletcher James AO (who was his tribal grandmother). [16] [17] Also, he is a [maternal] great grand nephew of land rights activist, Denny Bowenda.[ citation needed ]
In 2013 Jack was a nominee for the Cairns Region Australia Day Awards for the Cultural Award, both for his work with supporting local charities and the arts. [18] In 2015 he was named an Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society. [19] In 2017 he was named as one of the Queen's Baton Bearers for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. [20]
Jack holds a bachelor's degree of arts, majoring in Politics & International Affairs from James Cook University. He is also an alumnus of the National Gallery of Australia's Indigenous Arts Leadership Program.[ citation needed ]
Cairns is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the 2021 census, Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia. The land is mostly flat and about half of the area is used for grazing cattle. The relatively undisturbed eucalyptus-wooded savannahs, tropical rainforests and other types of habitat are now recognised and preserved for their global environmental significance. Although much of the peninsula remains pristine, with a diverse repertoire of endemic flora and fauna, some of its wildlife may be threatened by industry and overgrazing as well as introduced species and weeds.
Maningrida is an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is 500 km (311 mi) east of Darwin, and 300 km (186 mi) north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central Arnhem Land coast of the Arafura Sea, on the estuary of the Liverpool River.
Weipa is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is one of the largest towns on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly involved in exports of bauxite. There are also shipments of live cattle from the port.
Laura is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Laura had a population of 133 people.
Hope Vale is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2021 census, the locality of Hope Vale had a population of 1,004 people.
Coen is a rural town and coastal locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. The town of Coen is inland on the Peninsula Developmental Road, the main road on the Cape York Peninsula in far northern Queensland. The community is quite busy, particularly in the dry season, with all tourists and visitors travelling the Peninsula Development Road up to the tip of Cape York having to pass through the town.
Yarrabah is a coastal town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2021 census, the locality of Yarrabah had a population of 2,505 people.
Noel Pearson is an Australian lawyer and founder of the Cape York Partnership, an organisation promoting the economic and social development of Cape York. He is also the Founder of Good to Great Schools Australia an organisation dedicated to lifting education outcomes for all Australian students.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Aurukun is a town and coastal locality in the Shire of Aurukun and the Shire of Cook in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is an Indigenous community. In the 2021 census, the locality of Aurukun had a population of 1,101 people, of whom 997 (88.7%) identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
Bamaga is an Indigneous town and locality about 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and is the administrative centre for the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council.
Napranum is a remote town in the locality of Mission River in the Aboriginal Shire of Napranum, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the town of Napranum had a population of 716 Indigenous Australians.
The Staaten River is a river in northern Queensland, Australia, rising in the Great Dividing Range and flowing northwest into the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama is a special local government area which is located on western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004.
Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook.
Dr Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher James (1937-2011) was an Australian sculptural artist, educator, linguist and elder of the Thainakuith people in Weipa, in the Western Cape York area of far north Queensland. She was the last fluent speaker of the Thainakuith language and became a pillar of cultural knowledge in her community. She was also known as Thankupi, Thancoupie and Thanakupi.
Naomi Hobson is an Aboriginal Australian artist of southern Kaantju and Umpila heritage from Lockhart River, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. She works in many media, including painting, photography and ceramics. She started exhibiting in 2013.
Rose Richards is an Australian healthcare worker and human rights advocate. Also known as Mookai Rosie she is an Aboriginal community leader, a Kuku Yalanji and Tagalaka elder from Far North Queensland. She advocated for culturally safe health care for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander maternity patients and established Australia's first Indigenous community-controlled corporation that specialises in health care services for women and children.
Paul Christopher Memmott is an Australian architect, anthropologist, academic and the Director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre at the University of Queensland. He is an expert on topics related to Indigenous architecture and vernacular architecture, housing, homelessness and overcrowding.