About Iaki

Born in Colombia but now an Australian citizen, Iaki draws deeply from her Afro-Colombian and indigenous heritage, lived experience, and the strength of the women in her family. As a multidisciplinary artist her practice weaves together music, performance, visual art, community choirs direction, and video to explore themes of identity, memory, transformation, and connection to nature. Trained and celebrated as a professional singer-songwriter, nominated for a Music Victoria Award in 2019, she has also directed and produced music videos that combine sound and image to tell powerful, emotionally resonant stories. Although iaki has painted and drawn since childhood, her visual art practice came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic, marking a significant shift in focus. Through a process guided by intuition and curiosity, she creates works that reflect both personal and collective experiences, centering resilience, spirituality and the profound bond between humanity and the natural world.

Iaki speaks Spanish, Italian, English, Portuguese.

“Iaki Vallejo es una fuerza creadora que transforma la memoria en color, el silencio en canto y el dolor en belleza. En cada obra suya late el pulso de los ancestros y la esperanza de un nuevo amanecer.”

– Carlos Colina, Executive Producer – SBS Spanish

Artist Statement

I create in two languages, the language of sound and the language of image. My journey as a singer-songwriter and visual artist is one continuous act of storytelling where melodies and
textures, rhythms and colours, breathe the same air. From the pulse of my Colombian roots to the landscapes that now surround me, my work draws on the resilience of women, the intimacy of memory, and the connection between humanity and nature. A song might begin as a sketch in my notebook, its emotions later reimagined in the weave of fabric, the edge of a sculpture, or the weight of pigment on paper. Likewise, a visual work can hum with an unspoken melody that finds its voice on stage. In music, I paint with notes; in art, I compose with form. Both are guided by the same impulse , to give voice to untold stories, to honour identity and to create spaces where beauty and truth can coexist with struggle. My practice is not divided into disciplines; it is one heartbeat, expressed through different senses.

Art CV

Awards, Recognitions & Exhibitions

2025	Love in Crisis \| Counihan Gallery \| Merri-bek Summer Show \| Melbourne
2025	Naarm Textile Biennale \| FortyFiveDownstairs Gallery \| Melbourne
2025	Espinas y Flores (Of Thorns and Flowers) – Solo Exhibition \| Ivanhoe Library & Cultural Hub
2025	Art Performance \| Ivanhoe Library & Cultural Hub
2025	A1 Darebin Art Salon Biennale \| Bundoora Homestead Art Centre
2025	Hope \| Group Exhibition \| Plenty Ranges Arts & Convention Centre \| Whittlesea
2025	Artist Talk \| Plenty Ranges Arts & Convention Centre
2025	Small Works Art Prize \| Brunswick Street Gallery \| Melbourne
2025	La Reina \| Soft Sculpture \| Acquired by City of Whittlesea Art Collection
2024	Group Exhibition \| Red Gallery \| Melbourne
2024	Paper the World \| Group Exhibition \| Box Hill Community Centre \| Box Hill
2024	A Common Sensorium \| SHS Residents Exhibition \| Melbourne
2024	Where the Light Gets In \| FATT Online Exhibition \| Worldwide
2023	Reveal and Conceal \| FATT Online Exhibition \| Worldwide
2023	Award of Excellence - Innovative Use of Materials \| Arts & Convention Centre \| Whittlesea Council
2023	Out of This Earth \| FATT Online Exhibition \| Worldwide
2023	Creating Space \| FATT Online Exhibition \| Worldwide
2023	A1 Darebin Art Salon \| Bundoora Homestead Art Centre
2022	Women Now \| Group Exhibition \| QVWC \| Melbourne
2022	Banyule Open Studios \| Textile Arts Community \| Melbourne
2022	Highly Commended \| Connections Group Exhibition \| City of Whittlesea
2021	9 X 5 Exhibition \| Greater Dandenong Gallery & Arts Centre
2020	Highly Commended \| New Futures Exhibition \| City of Whittlesea
2019	Nominee \| Best Intercultural Artist \| Music Victoria Awards
2002	Finalist \| Emerging Artist Award \| Vertigo Arte \| Cosenza - Rome, Italy
2000	Highly Commended \| Ancestros Exhibition \| IPC \| Cali, Colombia

Art Residencies & Camps

2020-21	Artist in Residence \| The Ownership Project \| Melbourne, Australia
2019	Rewire Camp \| Career Development Camp \| Common Ground The Wedge \| Hilldene, VIC
2018	Mule International Mural Festival \| Cali, Valle \| Colombia
2007	Voice & Body Residency \| Viva Festival \| Rome, Italy

Work Experiences & Educational Programs

2025	Choir Facilitator \| Women of Love and Fury (WOLF Choir) \| Melbourne
2024	Facilitator \| Stitching Workshop \| Reservoir Community Centre
2023–24	Facilitator \| Children’s Art Workshops \| Coburg Community Festival
2023	Facilitator \| Stitching Classes \| East Coburg & Newlands
2021–Present	Founder & Director \| Sonidos del Alma Community Choir \| Melbourne
2020–Present	Disability Arts Support \| Hearth Australia \| Melbourne
2021	Spanish Language School Incursion \| Ascot Vale Primary School \| Melbourne
2021	Music for Your Soul \| Online Singing Workshop Facilitator \| AMCS \| Melbourne
2021	Singing Workshop Facilitator \| The Boite Singer Festival \| Melbourne
2019	Paint, Sing & Dance Workshop Facilitator \| Turramurra Music & Art Camp
2019–22	Textile Arts Community Manager (Volunteer) \| Melbourne
2016–Present	Band Leader \| Iaki Latin Jazz Band \| Melbourne
2010–Present	Art & Music Private Tuition \| Melbourne

Music CV

Performance Highlights

2025	Melbourne Recital Centre \| Relaxed Concert Series \| Melbourne
2024	Moorabbin Music + Arts Festival \| Moorabbin Art Centre \| Melbourne
2024	Kew Court House \| Concert \| Melbourne
2024	Castlemaine Jazz Festival \| Castlemaine
2023	Melbourne Recital Center \| Concert \| Melbourne
2022	Box Hill Community Arts Centre \| Concert \| Box Hill Melbourne
2022	Victorian Senior Festival \| Federation Square \| Melbourne
2022	Latin Muses Tour \| Mallacoota \| Victoria
2022	The Boite Celebration Of Music in Lockdown \| Streaming Concert \| Melbourne
2021	Ventana Festival Frankston Ventana Festival \| Concert \| Frankston
2021	"Tres Voces" Celebrating International Women Day - MAV \| Concert North-code Town Hall
2021	Victorian Seniors Festival \| Streaming Concert \| Melbourne
2020	Eltham Jazz Festival \| Concert \| Eltham
2019	Melbourne Recital Centre \| Concert \| Melbourne
2019	"Generations" \| Concert \| Immigration Museum \| Melbourne
2019	Darebin Arts Centre \| Concert \| Melbourne
2019	The Boite 40th Birthday Celebration \| Concert \| Abbotsford Convent \| Melbourne
2019	Momba Festival, Federation Square \| Performance \| Melbourne
2019	Victorian Multicultural Festival \| Federation Square \| Performance
2019	Residency at Birds Basement Jazz Club \| Melbourne
2018	Colombia Tour \| Salamandra Theatre \| Colombia
2018	White Night Ballarat \| Performance \| Ballarat
2018	White Night Melbourne \| Performance \| Melbournee
2016	Melbourne International Peace Concert \| Performance \| Melbourne

Residencies | Camps

2007	"VOICE & BODY" Residency as part of Viva Festival \| Rome \| Italy

Education

2022	Singing lessons \| Yvette Johansson \| Melbourne
2004	Singing lessons and workshops \| Various Teachers \| Rome, Italy
1997	Diploma in Music/Performance \| The Popular Institute Of Culture \| Cali, Colombia