Atong Atem

Atong Atem is an Ethiopian born, South Sudanese artist and writer living in Narrm/ Melbourne. Atem works primarily with photography and video to explore migrant narratives, postcolonial practices in the African diaspora and the exploration of identity through portraiture.

Atem explores concepts of home and identity through a critical and sentimental lens and references the works of photographers Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita and science fiction writers such as Octavia Butler as tools for navigating liminal spaces.

Atem has exhibited her work across Australia, including MUMA Monash, Gertrude Contemporary, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art and Internationally at Red Hook Labs in New York, Vogue Fashion Fair in Milan and Unseen Amsterdam art fair. Atem was the recipient of the inaugural National Gallery of Victoria and MECCA M-Power scholarship in 2018 as well as the Brisbane Powerhouse Melt Portrait Prize in 2017.