Emma Ward

Emma Ward is a visual artist working predominantly in painting who is based in Central Queensland, part of the third generation of her family to reside on Darumbal Country. Over the past fifteen years, Ward’s practice has traversed a range of themes across a variety of artistic genres, exploring themes of motherhood, identity, flora and fauna through portraiture and still life.

A visual storyteller at heart, Ward combines a love of playful imagery and a belief in the profound power of the imagination with technical skill to evoke atmosphere and convey emotion in her works. Ward’s work draws the viewer in through striking colour and compositions that featuring carefully selected symbols, striking a balance between whimsy and narratives exploring identity, place and personal experiences.

Ward has exhibited widely with recent achievements including 2024 solo exhibition, “Wild. Life” at Benevolent Living in Rockhampton, and receiving a special commendation in the 2023 Bayton Award for Central Queensland artists at RMOA. Exploring the work of female artists past and present has been a recent influence on her practice and has become a great personal motivation, leading Ward to undertake a Bachelor of Fine, completed in 2025.

Bachelor of Fine Art

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Wild. Life. Benevolent Long Gallery
2017 Draft, Rockhampton Art Gallery
2017 Playtime, Banana Shire Regional Art Gallery
2015 Birds of a Feather, Banana Shire Regional Gallery
2012 Lovers & Daydreamers, My Sisters House Store, Rockhampton

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Know my Name, Makers Space, Rockhampton Museum of Art
2024 Women’s Work, Banana Shire Regional Gallery
2023 Outside Inside, Pop Up Exhibition, Rockhampton
2023 Cattle City Restaurant, Pop Up Exhibition, Rockhampton
2020 Botanics exhibition, Gala Gallery Rockhampton
2019 Counterparts, Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton
2019 End of Year exhibition, Redhill Art Gallery, Brisbane
2018 Collection Intervention, Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton
2017 Caravan of Curiosities, Gympie Art Gallery
2017 Caravan of Curiosities, Gladstone Regional Art Gallery
2016 Caravan of Curiosities, Banana Shire Regional Art Gallery, Biloela
2016 Caravan of Curiosities, Mill Gallery, Yeppoon
2015 My Sisters House Store, Rockhampton
2013 Artists of SE Queensland, Art & Design Precinct Brisbane
2013 Inspirations, Royal Qld Art Society, Rockhampton
2013 Fresh Paint, Mill Gallery, Yeppoon
2011 Members Exhibitions, Mill Gallery, Yeppoon