Gilbert, Kevin (1933-1993), was an Australian Aboriginal political activist, poet, artist, and playwright. Gilbert wrote The Cherry Picker (1971), the first Aboriginal play to be performed in Australia. The play explores the life of Aboriginal migrant workers and how the white world fails to understand Aboriginal culture.
Kevin John Gilbert was born in a slum in Condobolin, New South Wales, Australia. In 1957, he received a life sentence for murdering his wife and educated himself while serving 14 years of his sentence in prison. He also taught himself how to paint. After his release in 1971, he worked for Aboriginal community development. An exhibit of his paintings was held in 1970. In 1972, he organized a protest by setting up a tent known as The Aboriginal Embassy on the lawn in front of Parliament House in Canberra. That same year, he founded the Kalari Aboriginal Art Gallery dedicated to training Aboriginal artists. In 1973, he wrote Because the White Man’ll Never Do It, a militant work of Aboriginal politics. In 1977, he published Living Black, an oral history that won an Australian literary award. His poetry was collected in People Are Legends (1977) and The Blackslide (1990). He also edited Inside Black Australia: An Anthology of Aboriginal Poetry (1988). Gilbert died on April 1, 1993.
