Jennifer Mintaya Connelly Ward, Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters Story), 91x61cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Jennifer Mintaya Connelly Ward
• Community - Kalka
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Ninuku Arts
• Catalogue number - 21-86
• Materials - Acrylic on canvas  
• Size(cm) - H91 W61 D2  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

This is a major Tjukurpa for Irrunytju (Wingellina) and across the central Australian deserts. The seven sisters travelled from Kaliwarra to Wannan in Western Australia, stopping at significant sites and rockholes including Kuru Ala, a sacred place for women. They encountered a lustful man named Wati Nyiru, who chased them around the desert. Some of the details of this Tjukurpa (Dreaming story) are sacred and can’t be repeated.

Jennifer was born at Mulga Park. She has seven children, and although they are now grown up, she is a busy woman, as she is the primary carer for several of her grandchildren. Jennifer has been working in the remote media industry off and on for 10 years, in Pipalyatjara, Irrunytju (Wingellina) and Umuwa. She is a skilled camera person and editor and has painted for both Ninuku Arts in Kalka, and Kayili Arts in Patjarr community. Jennifer’s time at Patjarr in Western Australia has informed her fluid and organic painting style. She is a natural colourist and most commonly depicts the Kungkarrakalpa Tjukurpa (or Seven Sisters Dreaming). She uses two implements - a brush and punu (small stick) - to create her compositions. Her paintings have great depth, which is created by the layers in her work, with some of her shapes appearing to float on the surface of the canvas. The colours she uses (and there are often many) flow into one another to create a blended effect.
Born at Mulga Park in 1964. Mintaya went to school in Amata and college in Alice Springs and Adelaide. Staying at Papunya with her father's family in her 20's. She then married Kutunitja Ward and lived in Patjarr for a long time, having 7 children. Mintaya has been working in the media for 10 years having trained in Darwin at Bachelor College.

Ninuku Arts is a wholly-Indigenous owned and governed Art Centre which supports artists from two communities - Pipalyatjara and Kalka. Each have populations of around 100-150 Anangu and the majority are Pitjantjatjara speakers – Anangu simply means ‘people’ in Pitjantjatjara. Both communities are located in the far north-western corner of South Australia, near the tri-state border of South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory. The two communities, fourteen kilometres apart, are surrounded by the rolling, rocky hills of the Tomkinson Ranges and are part of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Both Kalka and Pipalyatjara are peaceful places. This is a result of strong governance, cultural engagement and pride among local Anangu. 

The Art Centre itself is located in Kalka and is housed in a mud-brick building (the only one in the Lands), which was built as an office in the early 1980’s by Anangu and white staff, and has since been extended to accommodate the growing number of artists keen to paint. A silver bullet caravan (formerly a mobile health unit) is also located on site, and has become a place for some artists to paint, mostly during the winter months while the morning sun warms the deck. Despite being the most remote art centre on the APY Lands, having limited working space and access to services, Ninuku Arts has continued to grow in success with each year. The artist’s commitment to both the art centre and painting is unflappable. The art centre prides itself on its inclusivity (providing opportunities for all generations) and embracing individuality in artists.