Kim Scott has been awarded in the 2022 State Cultural treasures awards for his contribution to the arts for his writing.
The State Cultural Treasures Awards (formerly State Living Treasures Awards) acknowledge outstanding lifelong contributions of senior Western Australian artists.
From the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries website:
The 2022 State Cultural Treasures Awards acknowledge outstanding lifelong contributions of senior Western Australian artists (over 60 years of age) to their art form and the community, and community arts organisations with an operational history of more than 25 years.
2022 Awards recipients
- Kim Scott | Writing
- Helen Matthews | Music
- Helicopter Tjungurrayi | Visual Arts
- Nannup Music Festival | Community Impact — Organisation
- Chris Hill | Design
- Terri Charlesworth OAM | Dance
- Ernie Dingo AM | Theatre and Film
- Wayne Jowandi Barker | Community Impact — Individual
Kim Scott (photograph from the Department of Local government, Sports and Cultural Industries) is a descendant of the Wirlomin Noongar people and grew up near Kinjarling/Albany. Some of his earliest memories are of camping on beaches, fishing with his family and eating fish – lots of fish. He studied English at Murdoch University and, in 1979, added a Diploma of Education to his achievements before working at Fremantle TAFE in the library, immersed in literature and guided by an unconventional mentor. Later, while he was teaching in Kalumburu with his wife, Kim began researching his first novel, ‘True Country’. It was his second novel, however, ‘Benang: From the Heart’ that cemented his place as one of this country’s greatest writers. ‘Benang’ won the Western Australian Premier’s Literary Award and Kim went on to become the first Aboriginal author to win the Miles Franklin Literary Award. His novel ‘That Deadman Dance’ saw him awarded a second Miles Franklin Award as well as the prestigious South-East Asia and Pacific Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Kim is a gifted educator and through his work with the Wirlomin Noongar Language and Stories Project, has dedicated himself to reclaiming Noongar culture and language. In 2012, he was named the inaugural Western Australian of the Year. In 2020, he was inducted into the Western Australian Writers Hall of Fame. To date, Kim has written five novels and a children’s book, as well as poetry and short stories for a range of anthologies, and is a senior academic at Curtin University of Technology.
Kim Scott is one of the authors of our Wirlomin Language and Stories project books:
