Marisa Ballinger                          

Marisa Ballinger is a contemporary Australian artist based in Toowoomba, Queensland. Of Ngiyampaa and mixed-European descent, Marisa examines the dynamic nature of self-identity  through the lens of her own cross-cultural heritage, investigating the evolving personal and cultural narratives that shape individual and collective understanding of who we are. Her work weaves together ancestral knowledge and contemporary experience, questioning the boundaries between tradition and innovation, belonging and displacement. By engaging with materials, stories, and practices from both her Indigenous and European heritage, she creates a visual language that speaks to the complexity of living between worlds—neither fully one nor the other, but something entirely new and authentic to her own experience.

 

​​Drawing on memory, experience, and the nuance of everyday life, Marisa weaves themes of personal, cultural, and creative rediscovery into her work, with an emphasis on the connection between artist, medium, and process. Her work is characterized by form, line, and meticulous technique. She works across  a variety of creative disciplines that incorporate textiles, paper and natural fibre string, copper, clay and acrylic paint. Central to her practice is weaving, which serves as the primary means of reconnecting with her heritage and expressing the stories that define her identity and sense of place. Inspired by nature and the world around her, Marisa combines contemporary and traditional techniques to explore form, space, light, and shadow. She reveals both real and symbolic landscapes of human experience through her choice of materials and the stories she tells.

 

Marisa has exhibited in galleries across Australia including Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, as well as in Toowoomba at the Regional Gallery, the University of Southern Queensland and the Write Gallery. Recognised for her textile work, Marisa received the Local Excellence Award at the University of Southern Queensland’s Biennial Art Exhibition in 2024. In 2025, she was the winner of the Fairholme Open Art Prize, the  Macquarie Emerging Artist Prize. Marisa also received a Highly Commended award in First Nations Art at the 2025  Queensland Regional Art Awards, with the work part of an exhibition that is touring Queensland during 2026.

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Her work is held in private collections throughout Australia.