Glennys Briggs is an Indigenous visual artist (Taungwurrung-Yorta Yorta, North Central Victoria) based on Gold Coast, Queensland. Her work reflects a strong connection to land, culture and history through the mediums of, painting, sculpture, installation and sound, wearable art and possum skin cloak making, with her main focus on Printmaking.
Glennys Briggs is a Tunguwurung/ Yorta Yorta/ Wiradjuri elder from Victoria who has lived in Queensland for approximately 12 years. She grew up on her father's country, on an Aboriginal Reserve called Cummeragunja on the banks of the Murray River in New South Wales. She was the forth generation to live and grow up on the reserve. Glennys lived there until the age of 14 years. Her father Hartley Briggs and uncle Aaron Briggs were both proud Aboriginal men who taught her about the land and culture. She also learnt from her mother and grandmother about bush medicine and living off the land, and was also told stories from her childhood and about her ancestors. She was very fortunate to grow up with family that still held knowledge of cultural information that was passed down to her.
Glennys' artwork has been based around the stories that have been passed down through her family for generations. She has a very strong link to her cultural heritage and has reached the age where she feels that her knowledge needs to be passed on to her grandchildren, great grandchild and the community. She uses her art to teach family and the wider community about her culture and the issues facing them.
In 2013, Glennys graduated from Queensland College of Art, Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art, Majoring in Print Media. In 2014, she was the recipient of a Victorian Indigenous Art Awards (the Copyright Agency Limited Award) for Stories Within series.
Glennys is also involved in Contemporary possum skin cloak making, working on several projects with organisations including the State Library of Queensland. She has exhibited in several group exhibitions including Stradbroke Island Artist Camp Exhibition, Gold Coast Art Gallery, Victorian Indigenous Art Awards Finalist exhibition, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Conform/Confront, Hong Kong, Art Fiesta and has held numerous solo shows throughout the Gold Coast and Brisbane regions.