Lyn Thorpe is a proud Yorta Yorta woman, artist, educator, and community cultural development worker. Art has always been a part of Lyn’s life from hand-sewing her own clothes as a teenager to experimenting with digital media, where she blends photos, paintings, and craft to tell stories in new formats.
This creative exploration culminated in her first solo exhibition at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Melbourne. Lyn’s practice spans textiles, digital collage, and cultural belongings. Her work has featured at Kaiela Arts, Koorie Heritage Trust, Shepparton Art Museum, and Monash University Museum of Art. In 2007, she was highly commended at the Victorian Indigenous Art Awards for her emu feather skirt.
“Art is a valid way to tell a story,” she says. “It builds relationships and helps people feel the history of Country, so they can be more closely connected.” Now working as Kaiela Arts’ Strategic Cultural Projects Lead, Lyn facilitates programs that foster cultural exchange and intergenerational wellbeing, including a partnership with Rumbalara Elders Facility. Her work is grounded in a belief that art is more than an object – it’s a powerful space for connection, healing, and meaning-making.
