It is for the part Page played in sharing this universe and the role she continues to play in advocating that all Australian architecture and design should be an act of co-creation that she is this year’s Gold Medallist. “When I heard those two words, ‘Aboriginal’ and ‘architecture’, put together for the first time,” she writes. Page’s acceptance speech at the IDEA 2021 Gala.įor Page, it was hearing of how practitioners like Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal were bringing Indigenous storytelling and values to the built environment that changed her path as an interior designer in an “increasingly wasteful and materialistic” world. “Everything was form and aesthetic, and it was all rather depressing.” “The idea that meaningful stories would drive design decisions was dismissed,” she writes of her years as a design student. The book is a deep dive into the remarkable traditions and contemporary applications of Indigenous design and architecture, but also sheds light on Page’s own experiences as an interior designer in 1990s Australia. In 2021, Page co-authored Design: Building on Country with architect and anthropologist Paul Memmott.

She founded her own interior design studio in 1999 and has since completed projects spanning interiors, public art, installations and film. As one of three associates of Merrima Design from 1995-1999, she worked with various Aboriginal communities in the delivery of culturally appropriate architectural services. Page’s creative practice explores links between cultural identity, art and the built environment.

As a descendant of the Walbanga and Wadi Wadi people of the Yuin nation, and as a leading force in the Australian design scene, Page champions the contemporary creative expression of Aboriginal identity.

Alison page interior designer