Nikita Ridgeway (born 1986) is a Bundjalung/Biripi graphic designer from Australia, who was awarded the a BBC 100 Women Award in 2015 in recognition of her entrepreneurial work and advocacy for Aboriginal graphic design.
Ridgeway was born in 1986 belongs to the Bundjalung and Biripi peoples.[1] Her parents are Steven and Dianne Ridgeway; her grandmother was the historian and writer, Ruby Langford Ginibi.[2] She attended Blacktown Girls' High School, and was the first Koori to be the school captain.[2]
A graphic designer,[1] she founded Dreamtime Ink Australia which is a social media account specialising in Aboriginal tattoo art in Australia.[3] She also owns Boss Lady Creative Design Agency, which specialises in Aboriginal graphic design.[4][5] In 2020 Ridgeway created artwork used in National Reconciliation Week.[1][6]
In 2021 she created the brand for Coles' Supermarkets renewable energy initiative.[7] Also in 2021 she created indigenous artwork used to decorate two fire trucks used by Wreck Bay (Australia) Rural Fire Brigade.[8] The brigade is owned and managed by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council.[9] Ridgeway has also worked on a variety of state-wide, national and international commissions, including the logo design for Sydney Water's Innovation Festival in 2021 and with the First Nations Foundation on a superannuation toolkit.[9][10][11]
Ridgeway also established Australia's first indigenous hip-hop record label with her brother Stephen.[12] Called Redfern Records, the label was named after the Sydney neighbourhood of Redfern they grew up in.[13]
