Melissa Drummond is a Melbourne-born, Kalgoorlie-based documentary photographer and artist, with a background in earth science, working at the intersection of mining and the natural world. Melissa has worked throughout regional Western Australia for over a decade, on mainly community projects and events. Her artistic practice often involves seeking out quiet, abandoned and degraded environments, recording the influence and impact of human activity. 


PHOTO: Lee Harrop

Awards

2023 - Finalist, Photo Collective Australian Photography Awards, Environment Category

2023 - Shortlisted (x 3), Photo Collective Australian Photography Awards, People, Environment & Documentary categories

2023 - Winner, Best Artwork by a Kalgoorlie-Boulder Resident, City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize

2022 - Shortlisted, Photo Collective Australian Photography Awards, Environment Category

2022 – Finalist, Contemporary Landscapes in Photography (CLIP) Award, Perth Centre for Photography

2021 – Shortlisted, Photo Collective Australian Photography Awards, Landscape Category (with M Ellen Burns)

2019 – Winner, Best Photography Award, City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize

2019 – Highly Commended, Inland Art Prize

2019 – Semi-finalist, Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize

2018 – Semi-finalist, Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize

2015 - Award for Excellence (Photography), City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize

2014 - Highly Commended Award, City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize

2013 – Winner, Photography Award, City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize

2012 – Semi-finalist, Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize


Memberships

AUSWIP, PCP Perth Centre for Photography, NAVA National Association for the Visual Arts, Photo Collective, Artgold (Arts & Culture Goldfields Inc.), ACF Australian Conservation Foundation, Wilderness Society, CCP Centre for Contemporary Photography 


Education

Bachelor of Applied Science, RMIT (1997)


Interviews

Melissa Drummond is Regional Arts WA's Artist of the Month - RTRFM September 2023

Artist Profile: Melissa Drummond - Regional Arts WA


Artist Talks

Documenting Williamstown - Museum of the Goldfields April 2023

Exhibitions

2023 // Williamstown Heritage Project, WA Museum Goldfields, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; Open Borders Exhibition: Regional Arts Triennial (selected), John Curtin Gallery, Bentley, Western Australia; City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Goldfields Arts Centre, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; Australian Photography Awards - Awards Ceremony, Bodriggy Brewing, Abbotsford, Victoria; CCP x Hahnemühle Summer Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Fitzroy, Victoria; Collective 2023, Perth Centre for Photography, Perth, Western Australia

2022 // Contemporary Landscapes in Photography (CLIP) Finalist Exhibition, Perth Centre for Photography, Perth, Western Australia; City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Goldfields Arts Centre, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; Collective 2022, Perth Centre for Photography, Perth, Western Australia; Open Borders: Erosion, Artgold Gallery, Boulder, Western Australia; 2022: A Time Capsule, AUSWIP online exhibition 

2021 // Black & CUTE (Courageous Unstoppable Tenacious Earnest) The Exhibition, Goldfields Arts Centre, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; Collective 2021, Perth Centre for Photography, Perth, Western Australia; 2021: A Time Capsule, AUSWIP online exhibition 

2019 // Inland Art Prize, Leonora, Western Australia; City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Goldfields Arts Centre, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2018 // City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2016 // WA Artists Group Show No. 2, The Basement Studio, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; Goldfields Arts Centre Group Exhibition, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie Town Hall, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2015 // City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie Town Hall, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; WA Artists Group Show No. 1, The Basement Studio, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2014 // Artitude Invitation Exhibition, Perth, Western Australia; City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie Town Hall, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; Studio 5 Collective Exhibition/Group Show, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

2013 // City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2012 // City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2011 // City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2010 // City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia 

2009 // City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize, Boulder, Western Australia 


Press

Erosion exhibition to open at Artgold gallery as part of Statewide Open Borders project   Kalgoorlie Miner December 2022

Williamstown Heritage Project on display at the Museum of the Goldfields  - Kalgoorlie Miner April 2023

Overview: Open Borders Regional Presentation Series 

Perth gallery exhibition Open Borders to showcase regional talents at culmination of Mycelium project  Kalgoorlie Miner August 2023


Clients

Discover The Round - Australia's Biggest Party | Mellen Events | Racing and Wagering WA (RWWA) | Tourism WA | Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Club | Shartruese Jewellery | Cocoa Desert | Westpac | SAFE Kalgoorlie | RAC | Deloitte | Cannings Purple | Strahan Events | Rydges Kalgoorlie Resort & Spa | Raeco | WAGPET | City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder | Goldfields Indigenous Housing Organisation (GIHO) | Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KBCCI) | WA Country Health Service (WACHS) | Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison (EGRP) - Art Project | Country Arts WA | Discovery Holiday Parks | EM Potts & Co. | Goldfields Institute of Technology (GIT) | Goldfields Education Mining Industry Alliance (GEMIA) | Norton Gold Fields Ltd | Solomons Flooring | Desert Gem | Northern Star Resources | Goolarri Media Enterprises | Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines | Hannans North Tourist Mine | Hormone Hoedown Inc. | WA Museum Kalgoorlie | WAM - West Australian Music | Breast Cancer Network Australia - BCNA | Bauer Media | Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) | Joined Up Films-SBS TV | Fidelity Corp. | St John Ambulance WA | CMI Music & Audio | Annette Carmichael Projects | Goldfields Pride | APRA-AMCOS | Artgold | Kalgoorlie-Boulder NAIDOC Week | Centre for Stories | Mincor | RM Williams Outback Magazine | Goldfields Arts Centre | Saint Barbara's Festival | WA Ballet 

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I live and work, and their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respects to Elders past and present.

Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.


Using Format