Yvonne Lewis, Irrunytju minyma, 91x61cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Yvonne Lewis
• Community - Kalka
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Ninuku Arts
• Catalogue number - 19/44
• Materials - Acrylic on canvas  
• Size(cm) - H61 W61 D2  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

Two women are dancing 'inma' the traditional dance and song at Irrunytju near the tri-state border of SA, WA and NT. They have collected bush tucker, tjala, honey ants, kambrabra, bush tomatoes, ili, bush fig, wayanu and maku, witchetty grubs, They are carrying their wana, digging stick.

Yvonne Stacia Lewis was born around 1955 in the bush hear Docker River, Northern Territory. She belongs to the Pitjantjatjara language and cultural group. Her parents were married at the church in Warbuton and as a child, she spent some time there learning English, hymns and bible stories. Yvonne has a strong aesthetic sensibility expressed through her painting, punu and tjanpi basket weaving. Her interest in colours, pattern and textiles is evident in her art practice. At one time she managed a second-hand clothing store at Irrunytju. Evonne regularly goes on bush trips into the country with the minyma pampa (senior women) to hunt tinka (lizard) and perentie (goanna); gather bush foods and minkulpa (native tobacco); collect tjanpi (spinifex), punu (wood) and materials to make resins, linaments and organic dyes.

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.