Karen Donnelly
was born in Albury, New South Wales and since 1972 has worked in the creative industries. She began her professional career with the animation firm Hanna-Barbera in Sydney and the following year joined the highly respected Richard Williams Animation Studio in London. From 1978 to 1981 Karen worked in film and television with the last two years employed at Crawford Productions in Melbourne. Karen graduated from Prahran College in Melbourne majoring in Fine Art photography and from 1984 to 2004 was Lecturer in Photography at Charles Sturt University.
Karen’s photographic practice incorporates portraiture and theatre photography. Her work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW, The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and shortlisted in several major prizes such as the William Bowness Award for Photography, The Olive Cotton Award, the National Photographic Portrait Prize (National Portrait Gallery - Canberra) and the National Portrait Prize (MAMA).
Karen is a founding member of FACING AUSTRALIA - a project that transforms statistical data into composite portraits that reflect upon identity, people and place. Since 2002 Facing Australia has been commissioned by local governments, small and large, to create works that reflect upon their distinct communities. As part of the ANZAC Centenary, Facing Australia was commissioned by the Museum of Brisbane to create a large video installation - ‘Facing World War War – stories of loyalty, loss and love’. Currently, Facing Australia is finalising 'Faces of Australia' a major public art installation for the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. The multi-media project reflects upon Australian identity within the contexts of colonisation and migration.
In 2016 Karen enrolled in a PhD programme at Deakin University. Her project titled The Soldier Artists of WW1: Sexuality, masculinity, performance and the aftermath explores the narratives and experiences of actors, singers & dancers, vaudeville and circus performers who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. The project also examines the role of warfront entertainment and how some men navigated and negotiated aspects of their sexual identity before, during and after the war.
My creative practice has always been concerned with the human condition - embracing the past and the present. Collectively my photographic work, the Facing Australia project and my PhD thesis has been a continuous investigation into people, place and identity.