Gina Williams

Gina Williams is an Australian singer-songwriter from Western Australia. Williams has released five studio albums and is the recipient of seven West Australian Music Industry Awards.

Williams's parents and grandmother were both part of the Stolen Generations and were never allowed to speak their languages.

Williams said that as a child "I wanted to be Sarah Vaughan when I grew up and to marry Nat King Cole".

Later in 2009, Williams wrote a song, incorporating the elements of a Welcome to Country. The intent of the song, "Wanjoo" (Welcome), was to be used by Williams and her children. She asked her language teacher to check and correct, and the teacher loved it which led to Williams teaching it to her classmates.

In 2010, Williams performed a cabaret, telling her own and her people's stories in Gina Williams and the Lubbly Sings. The album was sung entirely in Noongar.

In 2018, Williams and Ghouse released their second collaborative album Bindi Bindi (Noongar for "The Butterfly"). The album was once again recorded, mixed and mastered at Crank Studios with Lee Buddle.

In 2021, Williams released her first book, Wanjoo, featuring illustrations from students at Ashfield Primary School in Perth.

Also in 2021, Williams and Ghouse published, through Magabala Books (Indigenous publishing house based in Broome, Western Australia), their first music book for voice, guitar and piano, "Kalyakoorl, ngalak warangka" (Forever, we sing). October also saw another step in the continued renaissance in Noongar language and culture with a sellout WA Opera season performing the Noongar Opera Koolbardi Wer Wardong, a story of Koolbardi the Magpie and Wardong the Crow.

Williams and Ghouse continue to host free interactive community music and language workshops featuring storytelling, music and collective singing.

Honorary positions Williams was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to the performing arts, to Indigenous music, and to media" in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Board of Directors, Australian Music Centre, 2021–present

Williams and Ghouse accepted an invitation in 2021 to be the inaugural patrons of Perth's first cabaret festival, the Perth International Cabaret Festival.

Discography Albums +List of albums, with release date and label shown Title Details Into the Night Released: 2002 Label: Gina Williams (PHGINAW001) Formats: CD Brilliant Blue Released: 2004 Label: Gina Williams (PHGINAW002) Formats: CD, Kalyakoorl (with Guy Ghouse) Released: 2014 Label: Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse (GWGG001) Formats: CD, digital download Bindi Bindi (with Guy Ghouse) Released: April 2018 Label: Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse Formats: CD, digital download Koorlangka (with Guy Ghouse) Released: February 2020 Label: Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse Formats: CD, digital download Koort (with Guy Ghouse) Released: April 2022 Label: Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse Formats: CD

Awards and nominations WAMIS The West Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). Williams has won seven awards.

herself Hall of Fame