Gillian Kayrooz

Gillian Kayrooz and her art practice were nurtured on unceded Dharug land in Guildford, Western Sydney and are deeply rooted in alternative methods of truth-telling through image-making. Her artistic approach is firmly anchored in the communities of Western Sydney, reflecting her personal experiences, ongoing engagement and steadfast commitment to storytelling through collaborative and disruptive art-making methods. Kayrooz graduated with First Class Honours from Sydney College of the Arts in 2018.

During her studies, she undertook a residency at the Chengdu Academy of Fine Arts in China. That same year, she was awarded the Create NSW Young Creative Leaders Fellowship, which led to international exhibitions across the Asia-Pacific region. Her work has been exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions across Australia, including at Artspace, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, Bankstown Arts Centre, Firstdraft, Granville Arts Centre, Penrith Regional Gallery, Urban Theatre Projects, the Powerhouse Museum and Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. Most recently, in 2023, she presented her first institutional solo exhibition at Murray Art Museum Albury.

From 2020–2021, Kayrooz held a studio tenancy at Parramatta Artists Studios and served as Co-Director and Co-Chair of Firstdraft from 2021–2023. She is currently participating in Counterflows, a program commissioned by Arts House, Melbourne and UTP, Sydney, which supported her research and participation in the 2023 Sharjah Biennale’s March Meeting. In 2024, she was announced as the recipient of the NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging). In 2025, she became a member of the Create NSW Youth Network and the Create NSW Western Sydney Creative Plan.