Rarriwuy Hick is an Australian actress, known for her roles in the television seriesRedfern Now, Cleverman and Wentworth.
Biography
Hick was born in Sydney, Australia. She grew up in both the suburb of Lilyfield, and in Dhalinybuy, an Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. She was raised speaking Yolŋu Matha and other Indigenous languages before learning English, and speaks seven dialects. Her mother, Janet Munyarryun, a Yolngu woman, was a founding member of Bangarra Dance Theatre. Her father is Paul Hick who was born in England. Throughout her education, Hick was inspired by her mother to pursue dance and the arts. She attended a Catholic girls high school and showed sufficient interest in dance to establish a troupe. In 2009, she commenced studies at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Dance College,. She was asked to audition for the Aboriginal-produced play Wrong Skin, and was successful, performing on the tour while studying. Hick was living in Arnhem Land at the time of the 2007 Northern Territory National Emergency Response. She later remarked that the intervention was not having an effect on child abuse like intended and instead that her family's lives and finances were being "completely controlled by the government". She established the dance group Yapa Mala and led its choreography. In 2011, she starred in the theatre playBloodland. In May 2013, Hick and other actors from theatre productionThe Shadow King in Melbourne were refused taxi rides by several drivers who reportedly drove off after observing that the group members were of Indigenous appearance. In 2016, Hick starred in a revival of the Louis Nowra play The Golden Age by the Sydney Theatre Company and her performance and dance received praise. In 2018, Hick started a social media campaign using the hashtag #ourkidsbelongwithfamilies, which became a "rallying cry" of Indigenous Australians fighting to maintain their families together against removals and resettlement of children by authorities.
