Gian Manik (b. 1985 in Perth/Boorloo) received a BFA (Honours) from Curtin University in 2011. After relocating to Naarm/Melbourne, the artist completed a Master of Fine Art (Honours) at Monash University in 2012. Since then, he has exhibited widely across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand in institutional and commercial contexts. He has received institutional commissions by the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 2022, and the Perth Institute for Contemporary Art, 2024. Additionally, his work has been featured in significant exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth/Boorloo and the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.

Manik was a resident artist at Gertrude Studios from 2022-2024, previously undertaking residencies at Bundanon, NSW; DESA, Indonesia, and The Australian Ballet. Manik was a Ramsay Art Prize finalist in 2025, following which he was named the 2025 Artist in Residence at the Monash University Prato Centre in Prato, Italy. Examples of his work are found in important public collections including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth/Boorloo; University of Monash, Naarm/Melbourne; City of Darebin, Naarm/Melbourne; Artbank, Naarm/Melbourne; Lawson Flats, Perth/Boorloo and numerous private collections across Oceania, North America and Europe.