Mari Funaki

Born and raised in Matsue in rural Japan, Mari Funaki came to Australia in 1979. Expected by her family to make a traditional marriage, she found a new life in Australia while travelling the world as a young woman, staying in Melbourne to become a leading member of the city’s cultural renaissance in recent decades.
Funaki’s story is exemplary of how shifting country and culture can unleash an individual’s potential. ‘If I had remained in Japan, I would never have been doing what I am doing now. In Australia I learnt freedom to express myself and to build my own identity.’ Australia is composed precisely of such stories of transplanted lives and talents.

Mari Funaki, Bracelet