Nola James Art

Nola James (Born 1933) was born at North Rockhampton. She attended the Bluff Colliery State School and had a stint at correspondence schooling. She brought up a family comprising of 9 children and worked as a nurse for the Aboriginal Medical Service. Nola was an Aboriginal cultural activist and leader. She had a dream of having a cultural centre to be located at Rockhampton. To achieve this dream, she set out to raise funds for it and to publicize it. Come 1985 the issue came to the attention of the city council they granted a piece of land for the venture. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Commonwealth Bicentennial provided funds, and the cultural centre came to life and was opened by Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1988. This center was referred to as the Nola James Building. It housed cave-like galleries that displayed and represented Indigenous artefacts and art, and also included a small meeting room. The center has been renamed the Dreamtime Cultural Centre after two buildings were added. Nola was the 5th of 6 children born of Margaret and her husband Joseph James of Queensland. She worked on pastoral stations with her family, then as a domestic worker before she became an artist. She ran activities such as dance training and was a coordinator and founding member of the Central Queensland Aboriginal Corporation for Cultural Activities. Framed Nola James art are very popular with many buyers because they come ready to hang with all the required accessories.