Barbara Mbitjana Moore facts for kids

Barbara Mbitjana Moore was born in 1964. She is an Anmatyerre woman, an Indigenous Australian group. Barbara grew up in Ti-Tree in the Northern Territory. Later, she moved to Amata in South Australia. This area is part of the APY Lands.

Barbara started painting in 2003 at Tjala Arts in Amata. Since then, her art has become very famous. She won a big award, the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, in 2012. She has also been a finalist for the Wynne Prize, another important art award.

Barbara Moore's Early Life and Work

Barbara Moore was born in Ti-Tree, in the Northern Territory. She grew up in a place called Amoonguna. When she was 13, she went to Yirara College. This was a boarding school in Alice Springs.

During high school, Barbara moved back north. She went to her father's home country in Ti-Tree. There, she worked in a preschool. She helped Aboriginal children learn.

Later, Barbara got married. She moved to Amata to live with her husband. In Amata, she started a new job. She became a healthcare worker. First, she cleaned at the Amata Clinic. Then, she trained to become a nurse's aid. She completed three levels of training.

Today, Barbara is a Senior Aboriginal Health Worker. She works full-time at the Amata Clinic for Nganampa Health. She also continues her amazing career as an artist. Barbara loves to paint in her free time. She even paints during her lunch breaks at the Clinic!

Family and Inspiration

Barbara says her family is very important. They inspire her work and career. She explains that being an artist is a respected job. It's a path that her children and grandchildren look up to. They want to be artists too. Barbara feels she is creating a good future for them.

Barbara has two children, a son and a daughter. Both are married and live in Amata. She is also a proud grandmother. Her three grandchildren are Teresita, Hannah, and Darcy.

Barbara Moore's Art Career

Barbara began painting at Tjala Arts in 2003. This art center was once called Minymaku Arts. She still paints there every day. The community at Tjala Arts has greatly helped her career. She loves the lively and friendly atmosphere. She says it's great to work together. They share stories, laugh, and talk while creating art.

Painting Style and Meaning

Barbara paints large artworks. They show her country and its landscapes. She mostly uses acrylic paints on linen. She also uses screen printing. She is known for her bright and strong use of colors. She often uses bright orange, pink, yellow, and green.

For Barbara, these colors show the richness of her natural home. They represent the bright colors of flowers and trees in her country. Barbara also likes how paint feels. She uses thick, bold brushstrokes. She says this makes the painting "sing."

Barbara names all her paintings "Ngayuku Ngura (My Country)." In the Pitjantjatjara language, "Ngura" means more than just land. It also means the place where someone belongs. It tells where a person comes from. It also shows their family and language connections.

Paintings of Ngura often share the artist's personal stories. They show memories of their Country. Artists remember things like tracks, landmarks, and waterholes. They also paint underground springs, rock formations, and sacred places. These are often shown from an aerial, or bird's-eye, view.

In 2018, Barbara and other artists from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands opened a gallery. It is in Darlinghurst, Sydney. They did this to stop unfair practices by art dealers. They wanted to protect Indigenous artists.

Important Art Exhibitions

Barbara Moore's art has been shown in many places. Here are some of her important exhibitions:

• 2003 Minymaku Arts – Exhibition of Fabrics, Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, USA
• 2007 Colours from our country, Harrison Galleries, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• 2012 Tjala 2012, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• 2012 APY All Stars, Short Street Gallery, Broome, Western Australia, Australia
• 2013 Tjukurpa nganampa kunpu kanyintjaku: Stories that keep culture strong, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• 2013 APY Lands survey exhibition, Outstation Gallery, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
• 2013 Desert Mob, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
• 2014 Tjintu kuwaritja wiru mulapa, ReDot Gallery, Singapore
• 2015 Kwarila Tjunguringayi – All together now, Short Street Gallery, Broome, Western Australia, Australia
• 2015 Tjintu wiru – Beautiful day, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• 2017 Artists of the APY Lands, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• 2017 Sharing Country, Olsen Gruin Gallery, New York, United States of America
• 2017–18 Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, South Australia
• 2018 Art of the APY Art Centre Collective, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• 2019–20 Ngayulu Nguraku Ninti – The Country I Know: Barbara Moore & Sharon Adamson at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia

Awards and Nominations

Barbara Moore has won and been nominated for several art awards:

• 2012 Winner – General Painting Award, 29th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award
• 2013 Finalist, 30th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award
• 2014 Finalist, 31st Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award
• 2015 Finalist, 32nd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award
• 2016 Finalist, 33rd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award
• 2016 Finalist, John Fries Award
• 2017 Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• 2019 Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Art Residency

In November 2019, Barbara Moore took part in an art residency. She went with artist Sharon Adamson and Annie McLoughlin, the manager of Tjala Arts. They spent two weeks at the Kluge-Ruhe museum.

During their residency, the two artists painted a mural. It was titled "Ngayulu Nguraku Ninti." The mural covered two walls in the museum. It showed the strong connections Barbara and Sharon have to their homeland. The mural included things typical of Barbara's art. This included thick paint, bright red colors, and radiating circles. The Australia Council for the Arts helped sponsor this exhibition and residency.

Art Collections

Barbara Moore's artworks are held in important collections. These include the Art Gallery of South Australia, Artbank, the Corrigan Collection, the National Gallery of Australia, and the W&V McGeough Collection.