Zena Cumpston

Zena Cumpston is a Barkandji woman with family connection to Broken Hill and Menindee in western New South Wales. She currently lives in Melbourne on the lands of the Wurundjeri people with her partner and two young boys. Zena is a writer and also sometimes works as a curator, consultant, academic, educator and researcher. Most recently Zena produced a free booklet exploring Indigenous plant use that has been used widely by schools and community groups. In 2021 she curated the show Emu Sky for Science Gallery Melbourne, exploring Aboriginal knowledge and bringing together over 30 Aboriginal community members, sharing their stories, research, knowledge and art works. She also spent 2021 writing for the Australian State of the Environment Report across several chapters. Zena is passionate about truth-telling and undertaking projects that directly benefit Aboriginal community. In her spare time she is a basket weaver and committed plant lover. In 2022 her book Plants, written together with Wiradjuri academic Associate Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher and Professor Lesley Head, will be published by Thames and Hudson as part of the First Knowledges series.