About me
I use photography as a tool for connection, advocacy and healing - especially for those who feel unseen. I’m accredited in mindful photography, and I incorporate therapeutic techniques into everything I do either that is documenting a neurodivergent family, guiding someone through a self-reflective portrait session, or holding space for a stranger’s story in a virtual exhibition.
You’re currently on my art and advocacy page, but you can also find me at Inclusive Photography Adelaide, where I document other neurodivergent families and individuals in a safe and inclusive way.
I am a mother before anything else to two beautiful neurodivergent kids who teach me every day about resilience and the beauty of being different. My work is about presence, and my hope is that through it, people feel a little less alone in their own story.
Hi, I’m Bianca Joanna, a mindful photographer, artist, and mental health advocate.
Photography has always been my lifeline. I grew up in a space where survival came first, and creativity was my escape. Later, it became my healing. I’ve experienced many losses in my life due to mental health, and while those losses shaped me, they don’t define me.
What defines me is what I chose to do with that pain.
Biography & Statement
Bianca Joanna is an award-winning mindfulness photographer and mental health advocate whose work explores themes of identity, vulnerability, and healing through therapeutic and documentary photography.
Her 2024 solo exhibition Breaking the Silence: A Postpartum Story (SALA Festival, Adelaide) shared a raw and deeply personal exploration of postpartum depression through self-portraiture.
Her group work has been exhibited at Gallery M as part of LIGHT_LIGHTNESS_& the EPHEMERAL (2025) and the City of Marion Community Exhibition (2024), where she presented Within the Spectrum, a juried self-portrait series exploring her lived experience with bipolar disorder. This series earned her the Merit Award from Gallery M.
Bianca is also the creator and curator of Hear Me Say This, a virtual exhibition and SALA 2025 feature which was named a finalist for the Don Dunstan Foundation Award. The project features portraits and written reflections of her and from people living with bipolar disorder, neurodivergence, and other mental health challenges, using virtual photography sessions as an accessible and inclusive format.
She has led Mindfulness Photography Workshops across South Australia (including with Talk Out Loud in 2024), where she teaches the therapeutic benefits of photography for processing emotion and practicing presence. Bianca is also a sought-after artist speaker and mental health panelist, and regularly shares her lived experience to create dialogue around trauma, resilience, and the power of being seen.
Awards
Finalist, Don Dunstan Foundation Award – 2025
Winner, I Now Call Australia Home Award – 2024
Merit Award, Gallery M – 2024
Voice 2023, 1st Prize, Visual Storytelling
Mono Awards 2023, Highly Commended, People Category
Publigation
Local Artist Bianca Joanna Buliga Opens Raw, Intimate Exhibition – Glam Adelaide, 2024
Recognized by Covasna Media (2015–2019) for her work with disadvantaged families in Romania
Exhibitions
Hear Me Say This (SALA Festival, Virtual) – 2025
LIGHT_LIGHTNESS_& the EPHEMERAL, Gallery M – 2025
Breaking the Silence: A Postpartum Story, SALA Solo Exhibition – 2024
City of Marion Community Exhibition, Gallery M – 2024
Memberships & Affiliations
Look Again (UK) – Accredited Mindfulness Photographer (2024–present)
Guildhouse Member (2025)
Red House Member (2025)
