About the Artist

"An authentic human being has the ability to make a profound impact on the imagination and wellbeing of others. Use your gifts wisely." Alison Jane Rice ©1999.

Australian artist, Alison Jane Rice was born in 1958 with Balmoral and Sydney's northern beaches becoming her childhood playground. Her sense of play planted the fertile seeds for an independent aesthetic. "I still live in the timelessness of this sacred place in my imagination. To find pleasure in curiously  constructed environments is to honour perfection and embrace deformity."

At 19 years of age, she founded Auro-Ali Imports which included a non profit component to assist in village education and the building of a village well near Pondicherry, India. The business sold in 1983.

In 1989, her self funded, non profit EARTHBOOK Project began, taking nine years to realise. It contained Earthlore: a national poetry competition to encourage youth to think about solutions for world peace. Alison selected seven of the young poets to join her on a whale-watching expedition on the tall ship Ours Svanen in Hervey Bay Queensland. In 1994, Alison was awarded a World Health Organization Healthy Cities Award for contributions to Youth, Arts & Environment.  

During this time, the artist gained her Bachelor and Masters degrees in Creative Arts from the University of Wollongong (1995). A year later, her performance event celebrating indigenous culture was held in Yiribana in the Art Gallery of New South Wales during Multicultural Week.

In 1999, The ALIGHT Journal was finally published by Alison and launched at the New Children's Hospital Westmead; proceeds benefiting its Adolescent Medicine Unit. Along with Peter Garrett's foreword to the book, the artist was inundated with inspiration from around the world. Including uplifting contributions from Edmund Capon, Peter Gabriel, Diana Princess of Wales, Giorgio Armani, Robin Williams, Mandawuy Yunupingu, Desmond Tutu, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Sir David Attenborough, and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

Between 1990 and 2006, Alison freelanced as an arts journalist, ran creative writing and self empowerment workshops, and was contracted by the Government as a Communications Trainer for employment training, including the Land Care & Environment Action program responsible for disadvantaged youth. In 2008, after committing to a gruelling schedule developing her own visual arts practice, Alison began exhibiting her artwork in galleries around Australia. Award nominations followed with the artist gaining international recognition and overseas representation with the Agora Gallery New York in 2010. Exhibitions and current works in progress are the result of Alison's experiences in the US, Europe, Asia and the wilderness regions of Australia. Inspired by natural beauty and ancient cultures, her intuitive approach to life illuminates the path she still follows: "I conduct my arts practice in my studio bordering the Blue Mountains wilderness. Drawing, Painting and Writing assist me in my exploration of Who I Am and Who I Am Becoming."    

On the 15th October 2011, Alison was announced the winner of the Blue Mountains Business Awards for Excellence in the Entertainment & the ARTS category. In the same month, the NSW Business Chamber announced Botanical Theatre as a finalist in the BUSINESS for PEACE Award. This global award, founded by the Business for Peace Foundation (Oslo Norway), recognises outstanding people who have been able to achieve success whilst acting in an ethically responsible way.                                                                                       

Since 1977, Alison has remained committed to her vision of “peace in our lifetime”. Her exhibitions and arts projects continue to highlight the importance of creative arts initiatives worldwide.

enquiries worldwide: info@botanicaltheatre.com.au

Membership and Industry Representation: - National Association of Visual Arts   Australian Society of Authors   Australian Business Arts Foundation   Art Gallery of New South Wales   National Trust of Australia  Bowral District Art Society  Copyright Agency Limited  Childrens Book Council of Australia (NSW)  BIZNET Blue Mountains NSW Business Chamber Friends of the Botanic Gardens   *NAVA Comprehensive Artist Public Liability Insurance cover                                    

© Copyright 2008 Botanical Theatre. All rights reserved. Content of this website may not be reproduced without full prior permission of the author. Additional photographic permissions and copyright may apply. Artwork not to be reproduced without artist permission. Homepage photo of Alison Jane Rice copyright Richard Rice 2011.  BOTANICAL THEATRE Ò Trademark  ABN 30 086 504 185.