Patricia Adjei

Patricia is a Wuthathi, Mabuiag Islander and Ghanaian woman from Warrane/ Sydney. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Law from UNSW and is the Head of First Nations arts and culture at the Australia Council for the Arts.

Previously, Patricia was the Indigenous engagement manager at the Copyright Agency l Viscopy. She is also a 2018 Churchill fellowship recipient, investigating the practical application of laws in the USA and Panama that protect Indigenous cultural rights.

Patricia has worked on developing the Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts. Patricia has served on the City of Sydney, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory panel and has been a Board member of the Contemporary Pacific Arts Festival and the Moogahlin Performing Arts Board. She is currently on the RAP advisory committees for Beyond Blue and Intrepid Travel. She is an advisory member of the Sunshine Coast Arts Committee.

In 2010, Patricia worked at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva as the 2010 Indigenous Intellectual Property Law Fellow. This position provided valuable insight into the traditional knowledge division’s work that is being done as the Secretariat for the international normative process on the draft international instruments on Traditional knowledge. Trish also previously worked as a lawyer at the Arts Law Centre of Australia and National Indigenous TV. She is also a published author, having written several articles and a chapter on Indigenous cultural intellectual property rights.

Awards & Recognition

Churchill Fellowship Medallion for research in Indigenous cultural rights

Professional Organisations & Memberships

• Australia Council for the Arts