*COMPETITION CLOSED* JOIN US FOR A CELEBRATION OF LOCAL TALENT AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
Congratulations to Emma H. for winning these amazing Demonias hand-painted by New Dreaming Art!
In just a few short days, you amazing Tragics raised $1000 for the Happy Boxes Project!!!! Please remember that you can continue to support this amazing project by donating on their website, and make sure to follow them on Facebook & Instagram!
Thank you to Nikita Fitzpatrick from New Dreaming Art for your amazing print and breathtaking boots! Make sure to check out her website, Facebook & Instagram for more amazing work!
The UN's International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (IDWIP), held on the 9th of August, is a day to celebrate the achievements of Indigenous communities worldwide, commit to the continued dismantling of discrimination and poverty these communities continue to face, and raise awareness of other issues affecting these communities.
This year's theme is ‘the role of Indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge’ which, as a female-owned company, is a topic that resonates strongly with us. We want to use our platform to give back to the communities on whose lands we operate. To this end, we're teaming up with self-taught, second-generation artist and First Nations' woman Nikita Fitzpatrick of New Dreaming Art to raise funds for Happy Boxes, a project that provides boxes of necessities like toiletries to women in remote Indigenous communities.
*COMPETITION CLOSED* WIN A PAIR OF HAND-PAINTED DEMONIAS
For this project, we wanted to do something unique and create something special that fit into this year's IDWIP theme. Art is one of the most creative forms of self-expression, allowing knowledge and wisdom to be passed on to future generations and shared among different communities. We chose to represent this in our own unique Tragic Beautiful way with traditional Indigenous art painted on a pair of Demonia boots.
We asked Nikita to work her magic with a pair of size 9 CAMEL-203s, on which she painted imagery representing our community at Tragic Beautiful, and the Traditional Custodians of the land Tragic Beautiful operates on: the Yuggera, Turrbal, Yugarabul, Jagera and Yugambeh peoples. We were absolutely blown away with Nikita's work, take a look at the show-stopping finished piece!
Photograph of artist Nikita Fitzpatrick wearing the hand-painted Demonia Camel-203s
Here's the story behind the art of these boots in Nikita's own words:
"I created this collaborative piece with Tragic Beautiful to help support all walks of life and show the connections between our communities from all different nations and backgrounds. The art piece created on the boots represents Tragic Beautiful's amazing stuff and there is also a symbol of a meeting place that shows that they bring in all different dynamics and people with the same love for alternative fashion. The piece shows the different nations surrounding the Logan area and the First Nations' land connections that lay within the country we stand on. It also shows the different pathways that people walk and as they cross paths and create connections within each other’s networks. I added the spiderweb to the back of the shoe to show the aesthetic of Tragic Beautiful's style and fashion and the sacred circle is placed on one of the shoes to ensure that everyone feels safe in the workplace and accepted in the space with no judgement. I’ve also placed stars around the shoelaces to show the never-ending possibilities of anyone’s dreams.
I pay full respects to the Traditional Owners of the Yuggera, Turrbal, Yugarabul, Jagera and Yugambeh peoples. As I cannot tell those stories from those peoples' perspectives, I have represented them in different shades of green white and grey as my cultural connection to the space."
Close-up photograph of the hand-painted Demonia Camel-203s
Want these awesome boots? Read on about how you can enter for the chance to win this one-of-a-kind art piece and support Indigenous women and girls in the most rural corners of Australia!
HOW TO ENTER
To enter, we've made a digital print by Nikita available here for $10 AUD which will go live at on August 9 at 12pm AEST. Purchasing the print qualifies you for an entry and all proceeds from the print will be donated to Happy Boxes. This way you can donate, and have an amazing print to own forever! Set it as your desktop background, have it as your phone wallpaper, or print it out to display at home as a reminder of your contribution to supporting this awesome cause!
Mockup of the digital print by Nikita Fitzpatrick placed in a black frame on a light grey background
The competition aspect of this fundraiser is open to Australian residents only, but our international Tragics can still support Happy Boxes by purchasing the print. The promo period will run from 9/8/2022 12pm AEST to 16/8/2022 11.59pm AEST.
THIS COMPETITION IS HOW CLOSED. WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED WEDNESDAY 17TH OF AUGUST. However, you can still purchase the print and make a donation to Happy Boxes. :)
WHO ARE HAPPY BOXES?
Happy Boxes is a project that assembles boxes of basic toiletries as well as beauty products for women and girls living in remote Indigenous communities. These communities often have limited access to essential items like deodorant, shampoo and soap due to living hundreds of kilometres away from the closest available store or only being accessible by plane or boat. Even when stores can be reached, these everyday items that we take for granted are prohibitively expensive.
Happy Boxes provide women and girls with necessities as well as self care products like face masks and body scrub because everyone deserves to enjoy these small luxuries, no matter their living situation or background. In doing so, Happy Boxes aims to help these women build the capacity for individual and community development, give these women a platform to share their stories and alleviating the barrier of accessing basic needs.
Check out the awesome work Happy Boxes does on their website, Facebook & Instagram!
Photograph of three young girls who have received boxes from the Happy Boxes Project.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
About The Artist: Nikita Fitzpatrick is a self-taught, second-generation artist and proud First Nations woman from all parts of Queensland. Here are a few words from Nikita about herself and her process:
"Art and culture is a way I connect within myself and a strong way to tell my stories. I use this practice to heal, and move through my trauma by creating and showing my emotions from a cultural perspective.
My techniques are mixed media, acrylic on canvas, sculptural work, and an intuitive style of painting by using Aboriginal symbols within my art and using a dot style to release memories. Creating new stories for others as a self-taught artist, I feel it’s important to share your knowledge through your art style. Teaching children and adults to honour First Nations art and allowing them to experience and have a better understanding and learning the practice in a culturally safe place."
Check out Nikita's work on her website, Facebook & Instagram!
Photograph of artist Nikita Fitzpatrick displaying the hand-painted Demonia Camel-203s
For full terms and conditions, please click here.
Shoe photography courtesy of Stacey Nightingale, Instagram @stacey_nightingale.
