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Lydia Miller

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Lydia Miller
OccupationsArts administrator, actress, director,
Notable workBacklash
Deadly
Jindalee Lady

Lydia Miller is an Australian arts administrator, formerly an actress and theatre director. She is known for her acting in films in the 1980s and 90s, including Jindalee Lady (1992), and extensive work on stage, as well as directing plays and undertaking various roles in art administration, notably as executive director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of the Australia Council (now Creative Australia) from 1997 until 2021.

Early life

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Lydia Miller is the daughter of jurist Pat O'Shane and statesman Mick Miller, who were both activists for Aboriginal rights and advocates for Aboriginal people in Australia.[1][2] She is a Kuku Yalanji and Waanyi woman from Far North Queensland.[3]

Career

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Acting and directing

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Miller featured in the films Backlash,[4][5] Deadly[6][7] and Jindalee Lady[8] On the television she featured in R.F.D.S.[9] and Heartland.[10]

She played Sophia/Tatiana and Tuovi in Diary of a Madman at the Playhouse and Belvoir St Upstairs Theatre in 1989-90,[11][12] which also toured to Moscow in 1992.[13] In 1992 she played Cressy in the debut of Radiance at Belvoir St Upstairs,[14][15] in a production directed by Rosalba Clemente. This play was written by Louis Nowra after Miller and Rhoda Roberts had asked him to write something for them. They were cast in two of the three main roles, with Rachael Maza playing the third.[16]

She played Tocky in Capricornia at Belvoir St Upstairs in 1988,[17][18] and Deborah Fielding in Corporate Vibes at Drama Theatre, Opera House in 1999,[19]

She directed, with David Kennedy and Rhoda Roberts, Close to the Bone at Eora Centre in 1991,[20] and with Mark Gould Gunjes at Belvoir St Upstairs Theatre in 1993.[21]

Arts administration

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Miller co-organised the National Black Playwrights Conference for 1989,[22] and cofounded the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust.[23] and a co-founder of the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust with Brian Syron, and Rhoda Roberts.[24]

She was appointed executive officer and director of the Australia Council's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board in 1994,[25][26][27][28] remaining in the position until February 2021, when her replacement, Franchesca Cubillo, was announced.[29]

Miller was project head for the inaugural Festival of the Dreaming in 1997,[30] with Rhoda Roberts as founding artistic director. This was the first of four leading up to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, before the festival relocated to Woodford, Queensland.[31][32][33]

After leaving the Arts Council in 2021, Miller was appointed program director for the Indigenous Women's Leadership Program "Deadly Women". She was also cultural producer for the Shine on Gimuy Festival,[34] a First Nations multi-arts cultural Festival held in Cairns from 2023, headed by artistic director Rhoda Roberts.[35][36][37]

In April 2025 she was appointed interim CEO of Agency,[3] an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led not-for-profit that creates cultural and other activities in Australia and overseas that provide opportunities for Indigenous people.[38] She was succeeded in this role in January 2026 by Glenn Iseger-Pilkington.[39]

Miller has also had experience in public policy and administration in health, community services, and criminal justice.[34]

Board memberships and other activities

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As of April 2025 Miller was chair of the Queensland Theatre Company Indigenous Reference Group, a member of the QMusic board, and a member of the Cairns Music Industry Working Group. In April 2025, she was appointed to the board of the Circa Contemporary Circus.[34]

Recognition

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In 2016, Rhoda Roberts said that the living person she most admired was Lydia Miller, as a "true Cultural Custodian who pass[es] on knowledge to ensure there is wealth and richness of understanding the environment and country and they do it with such humility and spirit of generosity always astounds me".[32]

In 2020, Miller presented the second Awaye anniversary lecture on Radio National. In her talk, she explored Australian Aboriginal identity.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Tarrant, Deborah (12 September 1993), "The Power of Two ...", The Sydney Morning Herald
  2. ^ Rowse, Tim (12 June 2024). "Michael John (Mick) Miller". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  3. ^ a b "Agency welcomes the appointment of Interim CEO, Lydia Miller". Agency. 11 April 2025. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  4. ^ Lowing, Rob (2 November 1986), "Low on budget and script, high on punch", The Sydney Morning Herald
  5. ^ Murphy, Jim (7 April 1988), "Ghost stories from Spielberg", The Age
  6. ^ Lowing, Rob (23 August 1992), "Deadly, but won't slay fans", The Sydney Morning Herald
  7. ^ Barber, Lynden (13 August 1992), "Australia's ugly face", The Sydney Morning Herald
  8. ^ MacDonald, Dougal (15 May 1993), "Aborigines' soap opera ignores real issues", The Canberra Times
  9. ^ "Television this week", The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 January 1993
  10. ^ Sutton, Candace (20 March 1994), "Ernie Dingo's Heartland", The Sydney Morning Herald
  11. ^ Evans, Bob (27 July 1989), "It's pure Gogol", The Sydney Morning Herald
  12. ^ Larkin, John (1 July 1990), "This diary is theatre at its disturbing best", The Age
  13. ^ Evans, Bob (14 March 1992), "How Belvoir played a Moscow Circus", The Sydney Morning Herald
  14. ^ Bennie, Angela (23 September 1993), "Magic moments too far apart", The Sydney Morning Herald
  15. ^ Payne, Pamela (26 September 1993), "Radiance sifts ashes for Australia's roots", The Sun Herald
  16. ^ "Radiance". Reading Australia. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  17. ^ Evans, Bob (25 April 1988), "Our Finest Hour", The Sydney Morning Herald
  18. ^ Osborne, Catherine (22 April 1988), "Capricornia revisited", The Sydney Morning Herald
  19. ^ Hallett, Bryce (1 February 1999), "Satiric Vibes fails closer inspection", The Sydney Morning Herald
  20. ^ Bennie, Angela (27 September 1991), "The whole: a sum of the parts", The Sydney Morning Herald
  21. ^ Evans, Bob (9 March 1993), "Narrative lines lack a focus", The Sydney Morning Herald
  22. ^ Portus, Martin (24 October 1988), "The case of the death too early", The Sydney Morning Herald
  23. ^ Reich, Hannah (17 July 2020). "Indigenous theatre leaders on stage representation, storytelling and Australian theatre". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  24. ^ Rowse, Tim (12 June 2024). "Michael John (Mick) Miller". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  25. ^ "New Executive Officer Appointed to Australia Council", Torres News, 30 December 1994
  26. ^ Jopson, Debra (14 March 1997), "Storm Erupts over 'Aboriginal' writer", The Sydney Morning Herald
  27. ^ a b Allam, Lorena (4 April 2020). "Art connects and creates our culture into the 21st century: Lydia Miller". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  28. ^ "First Nations artists work to challenge stereotypes and break down barriers to audiences". Creative Australia. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  29. ^ Musa, Helen (17 February 2021). "Cubillo heads indigenous arts at Australia Council". Canberra CityNews. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  30. ^ Jopson, Debra (9 August 1997), "One nation or 301 nations", The Sydney Morning Herald
  31. ^ Baker, Candida (25 January 2019). "Indigenous arts supremo Rhoda Roberts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  32. ^ a b Pendergast, Kirra (2 February 2016). "People to know – Rhoda Roberts". Common Ground North Coast. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021.
  33. ^ Roberts, Rhoda (25 January 2019). "Indigenous arts supremo Rhoda Roberts". The Sydney Morning Herald (Interview). Interviewed by Baker, Candida. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  34. ^ a b c Circa Contemporary Circus (9 April 2025). "We are delighted to announce the appointment of Lydia Miller and Anthony Rose to the Circa Board". Facebook. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  35. ^ "Shine On Gimuy Festival". Shine On Productions. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  36. ^ Guenzler, Joseph (24 October 2024). "Shine on Gimuy Festival celebrates Indigenous culture with dance and art". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  37. ^ Schroeter, Jade (8 September 2025). "Shine On Gimuy 2025: A Celebration of Light, Culture & Connection". Qld Music Trails. Archived from the original on 16 January 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  38. ^ "About". Agency. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  39. ^ Rowe, Peter (11 December 2025). "New chief for leading arts organisation". First Nations News. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
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