"Art was never an option, but an opportunity to build me up as a person and to appreciate the inner beauty of this mystery"

Irami Buli - BIOGRAPHY

Fiji’s celebrated artist mentored by an Academic Professor and a re-known painter, poet, and writer of the first and second wave of talented artists known to be the RED WAVE collective. A Contemporary and a distinctive Painter by profession with decades of experience in the Arts locally and internationally and has become successfully celebrated for his wealth of achievements in Art Exhibitions in Fiji and the Pacific region.

Buli who has traveled and exhibited in many parts of the world and the first recipient from Fiji to exhibit three times at the 7th , 8th and 9th Beijing International Art Biennale at the National Art Museum in Beijing China representing Fiji at the Iconic International Art platform in 2017, 2019 and 2022 Olympics Winter Games. Buli also attained international recognition from NAMOC for his contribution to the National Art museum in Beijing and has been honored for his achievements. In 2014 his trip included a tour to Sydney to exhibit at the National Maritime Museum of Australia taking on a voyage across the Pacific for the cause of Preservation and Conservation of our Ocean in the Pacific on the famous Uto Ni Yalo. He had exhibited also in New Zealand following a series of PACIFIC VOICE’s collective exhibitions with numerous international artists. The Artist's current position reflexes his obsession on tradition and modern protocols of socio economical tense that gives him to express a powerful illustration subdued to his style and technique as a Post-Modernist Abstract Painter.

The Artist has expanded his experience through internal and external Dialogues in implementing policies on Developing the Cultural Industry of the Fiji Arts Sector in promoting the Creative components and expanding it to the Pacific Region. After an assessment of the artist's work recognised by the National Art Museum in Beijing, his status has profoundly been labeled as an Ultra Contemporary Artist by Artfacts.

He is the founder and owner of BULIVITI Gallery which now operates locally to constantly build art visibility in Fiji. Buli who is widely known for his characteristic illusion on portraying his way of storytelling to the people and constantly knocking on the realms of ideas to attain authentic illustration through Visual Interpretation in his Art. He has taught Art locally and internationally in the cause of assisting young artists in mentoring and nurturing emerging artists locally and the Pacific region.

With numerous awards to his name and is well recognized for his art he still believes he still has a long way to go and is constantly learning every step of the way. Buli who also has successfully launched eleven solo exhibitions both locally and internationally regards this to be very honoring but yet still thirst for inspiration within him to carry his messages around the globe.

Buli who pioneered the establishment of the Viti Association of Visual Artists (VAVA) and was the Director of the association since 2017. In 2022 Buli became the Chairman of the registered company the "Association of Visual Artists Fiji. Working closely with agencies in the cultural sector, The UN Secretary General’s Multi Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) for COVID-19 recovery joint project entitled “Inclusive Economic Recovery through Sustainable Enterprises in the Informal Economies of Fiji, Palau, Tonga and Vanuatu”, UNESCO, United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

With his expertise on curating he has held numerous curation including the National Fine Art Awards, Kula Art Awards, private exhibitions and has curated numerous international shows in India, Brisbane, and Bali to name a few. He also was the project curator - curatorial team in the establishment of the National Gallery of Contemporary Art which was planned for Fiji.

The artist has represented Fiji in many major international art meet and exhibitions, the Beijing International Art Biennale in Beijing, India, USA, Bali, Jakarta, Australia, Ukraine, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Noumea, Japan, St. Petersburg Russia, most of his works have traveled through to France and Europe and have collectors around the world.

“Art is not about how you can portray a perfect picture, for me it is more a self-portray of who you do not know. The more I dwell within me the more curious I became about the millions of things I do not know about thy self.”

Contemporary Art eFFECt