Michael Aird was born at Southport on his traditional country, with family connections throughout the Nerang and Logan Rivers region of south-east Queensland, Australia. Working in the Aboriginal arts and cultural heritage sector since 1985, documenting aspects of urban Aboriginal history. He has curated over 35 exhibitions and undertaken numerous research projects in the area of native title, local histories and art. In 1996 he established Keeaira Press an independent publishing house. He has been published in academic journals and numerous other publications. While not holding an academic position for most of his career, Michael’s research output is significant, being recognized internationally, particularly for the study of photographs of Indigenous people. He has been the Director of the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum since 2018.
