Phyllis Donegan, Tali Tjuta, 91x61cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Phyllis Donegan
• Community - Kalka
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Ninuku Arts
• Catalogue number - 23-414
• Materials - Acrylic paint 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

Minyma at Walytjatjara, north of Kalka. They are collecting Kambrabra (bush tomato), grinding it and making damper from it (no flour). After they go home to their wiltja (shelter) and there is a man there. One lady gives him the Kambrabra and he hides it behind his back. Another gives him some and he also hides it behind his back so he can get more from them. Eventually the oldest sister brings some out and he grabs her and takes her away. They travel a long way and they are married.

Phyllis Donegan was born at Warburton Ranges in 1973 and is the youngest daughter of renowned painter Jimmy Donegan. She went to school at Amata and moved back to Pipalyatjara and Kalka in the homeland movement of the late 1970s. As she was growing up she moved between Wingellina, Pipalyatjara and Amata. She started painting in Blackstone and it was there where she worked with her sister and mother on the Tjanpi Toyota that won the Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2005. She lives in Kalka with her family. Phyllis paints designs and iconography associated with the Seven Sisters and Wati Kutjara stories. Here style is very geometric and precise

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.