Eileen Harrison was born in 1948 at Lake Tyers Mission Station. She is a Kurnai woman, an artist and a respected elder. As a mature-aged student, she studied Art and Design at Gippsland TAFE in Morwell, winning the 2002 Training Award, and went on to complete certificates in Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Art Design. Subsequently she received accolades for her work in three solo exhibitions. In 2004 she received the NAIDOC Award for Baw Baw Shire Artists, and in 2007 received the RMF Recognition for Artistic & Cultural Heritage along with a certificate of recognition for her contribution to the arts. Her paintings are represented in schools and offices throughout Gippsland, and she has been commissioned to produce works for Victorian Departmental offices. Two of her works adorn the walls in Queens Hall Parliament House (Melbourne). One of her paintings is immortalised on the cover of the Department of Justice’s Victorian Aboriginal Agreement, Our People Our Country.

“I combine a sense of purpose with life experiences in attaining my personal achievements within my art. I have come a long way since the days on the Mission overcoming many barrier including racism, dispossession and deafness.”

Her book BLACK SWAN L A Koori Woman’s Life was written with Carolyn Landon.