Aunty Lola Greeno: Celebrates 80 Years

 We have a legacy to carry on from our old women to teach our children and grandchildren the knowledge and skills of our cultural practice.  We must work to maintain our culture, our environment, and to continue our story into the next generations.

- Aunty Lola Greeno

Aunty Lola Greeno is a highly respected and much loved senior Pakana/Tasmanian Elder and a National Living Treasure.  A senior shell necklace stringer, known for her distinctive, often colourful and iridescent, delicate strands of shells collected from the coastlines of Tasmania's mainland and the Furneaux Island shores, Aunty Lola uses skills passed down from her mother and maternal grandmother and continues to share this knowledge with future generations..

Aunty Lola is the first Indigenous artist to receive the National Living Treasure Award; Master of Australian Craft for 30 years of experience within the craft industry. The Award supported a solo exhibition entitled Cultural Jewels, which toured nationally from 2014-18. In 2023 Aunty Lola was awarded the esteemed? Don Macfarlane Prize, awarded to a senior Australian artist, in recognition of their unwavering, agenda-setting arts practice, ongoing cultural contribution and leadership, and commitment to mentorship. In the same year she was awarded an Honourary Doctorate from the University of Tasmania in honour of her lifelong dedication to her community and culture.

Lola has exhibited internationally in Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand and Singapore. Lola is represented in many public collections, including  the National Gallery of Australia, the National Museum of Australia; Powerhouse Museum, Sydney; Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston; Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), Hobart.

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