Anmanari Brown

Anmanari was born at Purpurna in the early ‘30’s. Secret country of the water snake, a big rock hole with lots of water. She travelled around with her family in the bush of the Western Desert before whitefellas came to the lands. She settled at Warburton mission in Western Australia where she attended school. She now lives in Irrunytju with her daughters.

• Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
• Nganampa Tjukurpa Kunpu, Nganampa Tjukurpa Mulapa

Group Exhibitions:
2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth
2002 Nganampa Tjukurpa Kunpu, Nganampa Tjukurpa Mulapa
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
Boundless
Art Gallery of W.A. and Country Arts
2001 Minyma Pampa Tjukurpa (Stories from the old women)
Artplace, Perth


Collections:
Art Gallery of Western Australia
City of Joondalup Council W.A.
National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Australia
Queensland Art Gallery
Wagner collection, USA
Dr. Bernadt

Kuntjil Cooper

Kuntjil Cooper was born at Irrunytju rockhole sometime around 1920. She spent her early years living a traditional life in the bush of the Western Desert. When she was a teenager she saw whitefellas for the first time. They gave her food, but she thought it was strange stuff and only pretended to eat it, really burying it in the sand.

Group Exhibitions:
2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth
2002 Nganampa Tjukurpa Kunpu, Nganampa Tjukurpa Mulapa
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
Desert Mob
Araluen, Alice Springs
2001 Minyma Pampa Tjukurpa (Stories from the old women)
Artplace, Perth


Collections:
Art Gallery of Western Australia
City of Joondalup Council W.A.
Hyphema collection
Acclaim Explorations

Alkuwari Dawson

Alkuwari was born at Tjun Tjun rockhole, Marlu (kangaroo) dreaming country, near the Warburton community, a few hundred kilometres further west of Irrunytju. She spent time at Warburton mission and still knows the words to the early days song “ all the way to the Calvery”. After the death of her first husband, she married a man from Irrunytju and spends most of her time here, visiting Warburton to see her daughters.

Group Exhibitions:
2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth
2002 Nganampa Tjukurpa Kunpu, Nganampa Tjukurpa Mulapa
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
Telstra Art Award 2002
Desert Mob
Araluen, Alice Springs
2001 Minyma Pampa Tjukurpa (Stories from the old women)
Artplace, Perth


Collections:
Art Gallery of Western Australia
City of Joondalup Council W.A.
Hyphema collection
Acclaim Explorations
Dr. Bernadt
Cruthers collection

Angampa Martin

Angampa was born in the 1940’s in the bush at a rockhole “Watala”, south east of the present day settlement of Irrunytju. She travelled east as a teenager to the mission settlement of Ernabella in South Australia. While at the mission she learned weaving and worked making rugs with the other women.

Group Exhibitions:

2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth
2002 Desert Mob
Araluen, Alice Springs

Collections:

Dr. Bernadt
Cruthers collection

Kuntjiria Mick

Kuntjiria was born in 1931 at Kunatjarra in the Western Desert region of Central Australia. She was a teenager when the doggers first arrived on camels. All the young girls would run and hide when they came. “We were scared of the “Whitefellas”. They were looking for wives, but they didn't get me because I was hiding in a good place”. More Europeans settled in the region when the nickle company started operations and Kuntjiria’s family moved to Ernabella Mission.

Group Exhibitions:

2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth

Mary Pungkai

Mary was born at Kampurarpa Piti, in the Western Desert region of W.A. in the 1940’s. In the early days her family would walk to Warburton Mission for rations. Later she travelled east with her family to Ernabella in South Australia, where she went to the mission school. Her mother would work with the other women spinning sheep's wool in the traditional Anangu (Aboriginal) way.

Group Exhibitions:

2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth

Wingu Tingima

Wingu was born at a rockhole called Nyumum, in the Western desert of W.A, in the 1930’s. “I didn't go to school I was a bush girl!” Later she travelled by foot with her mother and father to the mission in Ernabella, where she worked spinning sheep’s wool to make things for the mission. “I wasn't worrying to go home because I was happy at the mission.”

Group Exhibitions:
2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth
2002 Nganampa Tjukurpa Kunpu, Nganampa Tjukurpa Mulapa
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
Desert Mob
Araluen, Alice Springs


Collections:
Araluen Collection, Alice Springs
Dr. Bernadt

Tinguma Tjilya

Tinguma was born in the bush at a place called Tjantjumatja, in the Western Desert, sometime around 1940. Her family walked in to Ernabella during the drought to get food and water at the mission station. “All the kids were nicketty (naked) singing nicketty at school.” She returned to her homelands on donkey and at the time the miners were working in a small chryoprase claim in Irrunytju.

Group Exhibitions:
2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth
2002 Nganampa Tjukurpa Kunpu, Nganampa Tjukurpa Mulapa
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
Desert Mob
Araluen, Alice Springs
2001 Minyma Pampa Tjukurpa (Stories from the old women)
Artplace, Perth

Nyalkulya Watson

Nyankulya was born at Mt Aloysius, a rockhole not far from the tri state border, sometime around 1938.
As a teenager she lived at Anumarpiti, now an outstation of Irrunytju. She remembers shortly after this time white fellas came and told her family to go to Ernabella. “ It was good at the mission, there was lots of flour, tea and sugar. In the morning we would listen for the bell, then we would line up for food, go to Church and then to work.”
Her family walked back to Amata then Irrunytju.

Group Exhibitions:
2003 Minyma Pampa Tjutaku Tjukurpa
Artplace, Perth
2002 Telstra Art Award
Art on a String.
Aboriginal Threaded Objects from the Central Desert and Arnhem Land
Nganampa Tjukurpa Kunpu, Nganampa Tjukurpa Mulapa
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
2001 Minyma Pampa Tjukurpa (Stories from the old women)
Artplace, Perth

Collections:
Art Gallery of Western Australia
National Gallery of Australia
Hyphema collection
Dr. Bernadt

Publications:
“Art on a String. Aboriginal Threaded Objects from the Central Desert & Arnhem Land” Object Australian Centre for Craft & Design and the Centre for Cross Cultural Research.
Cover photo work by Nyankulya Eileen Watson.