John Harding (Kuku Yulangi/Erub; TSI), founder of Ilbijerri Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Theatre Company, is a pioneering playwright, director, and actor whose career has shaped the landscape of Indigenous theatre in Australia.

As the founder of Ilbijerri Theatre Company, he has worked tirelessly to champion First Nations voices and stories on stage and screen.

His groundbreaking play Up the Road (1991) became Ilbijerri’s first production and later toured nationally under Neil Armfield’s direction for Belvoir Theatre (1996–97). For this work, John received the Australian Human Rights Medal for Arts (1997), one of many honours recognising his dedication to Indigenous artistic expression.

Beyond theatre, John broke new ground in screen storytelling—researching, writing, and reporting for ABC TV’s Blackout (1989), writing the first Aboriginal sitcom The Masters for SBS (1996), and producing Indigenous stories for ICAM.

His leadership and artistry have been recognised with major fellowships, including the Australia Council Indigenous Fellowship (1997) and the ANU Nugget Coombs Fellowship (2002). Internationally, John’s plays have been staged at the United Nations in New York (2005) and at the EASA International Biennial Conference in Hungary (2005). His acclaimed site-specific work, The Dirty Mile, a history of Indigenous Fitzroy, won the 2009 Deadly Award for Literature.

Recent works include Sisterly Love, presented at the University of Melbourne (2014) and La Mama Theatre (2016), both to sold-out audiences.

John is currently completing his Doctorate of Philosophy in Creative Arts at the University of Melbourne, continuing his lifelong commitment to advancing Indigenous theatre and storytelling