Karen Casey was born and spent her formative years growing up in Hobart and country Tasmania before relocating to Melbourne in the 1980s. She was later one of a group of urban Aboriginal artists exhibiting widely in Australia and overseas, with numerous national and international curatorial shows and major touring exhibitions.

Her early figurative paintings and prints were often raw and confrontational commentaries on environmental and social justice issues. Her later works signalled a decisive shift as she adopted a less politicised ideology and more contemplative appreciation of her indigenous heritage and philosophical beliefs, giving rise to images that were deeply rooted in environmental connection.

From the late 1990’s she gradually shifted away from painting to focus on digital media and installation producing major works such as Dreaming Chamber, exhibited in the 3rd Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at the Queensland Art Gallery in 1999. At this time she also entered into the public art domain where she has since worked with architects, urban planners and developers on numerous corporate and public projects, as both collaborative consultant and commissioned artist.

Since her involvement in the design delivery for Reconciliation Place, Canberra in 2001 Casey has worked on various other public projects promoting reconciliation and indigenous culture. She completed a major commission of a three storey permanent artwork installation in Melbourne Docklands in 2003 and was appointed Artist-in-Residence for the City of Melbourne, working with the Urban Design Branch on a number of civic projects.

In 2004 she instigated a research project at the Brain Science Institute at Swinburne University, Melbourne and embarked on an ambitious ongoing project with a computer software designer, to develop an interactive interface for creating brainwave generated art. In 2007 she developed Let's Shake, a project committed to peace and reconciliation between indigenous and non indigenous peoples.