Jimmy Donegan facts for kids

Jimmy Donegan was born around 1940. He is an Aboriginal Australian artist. His amazing painting Papa Tjukurpa munu Pukara won a big award in 2010. This award is called the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award. Jimmy speaks two important languages: Pitjantjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra. His artworks are kept in many private art galleries in Australia and Europe. You can also see one of his works at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Jimmy Donegan's Early Life

Jimmy Donegan was born around 1940. His birthplace was Yanpan, a special rock hole in the outback of Western Australia. He grew up living a traditional, nomadic life. This means his family moved around a lot. They lived in the lands of the Pitjantjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra people. These areas are now known as Papulankutja and Mantamaru. In the 1950s, his family settled in Papulankutja.

Before becoming a painter, Jimmy worked as a stockman. A stockman looks after cattle. He was also a skilled hunter and craftsman. He was known for making traditional hunting tools. These tools included spears, spear-throwers, and boomerangs.

In the early 1970s, Jimmy helped set up small communities called outstations. These were in the Pitjantjatjara lands. His wife, Nuuniwa Imundura Donegan, was born near Puta Puta. This place is close to Kalka. Jimmy, his wife, and their children first lived there. Later, they moved to Papulankutja. This was closer to Jimmy's own homeland.

His Family's Art and Craft

Jimmy's wife, Nuuniwa Imundura Donegan, was also a talented craftswoman. In the mid-to-late 1990s, she joined the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. This group of women made art from grass, which is called tjanpi.

Nuuniwa and her group created a life-sized Tjanpi Grass Toyota. This was a truck made mostly from desert grasses. It won the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2005. Her work is now shown in major galleries. These include the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Museum of Australia.

Jimmy's daughter, Melissa Isabelle Donegan, is also an artist. She was born in 1969 in Western Australia. As a child, she lived in Amata. Later, her family moved to Pipalyatjara. This was part of the "Homeland Movement" to be closer to their traditional lands. Melissa's family often moved between Irrunytju, Pipalyatjara, and Amata.

As an adult, Melissa moved to Blackstone. This is a remote community in Western Australia. There, she started her painting career. She also helped create the 'Tjanpi Toyota'. This was the life-sized replica of a Toyota Landcruiser made from woven grass. Melissa worked on this project with her mother and sister. Today, Melissa lives in Kalka and continues to paint. Her paintings are often inspired by tjukurpa, which are traditional stories. She also works at the Ninuku Arts Centre.

Becoming an Artist

Jimmy Donegan started painting professionally around 2000. He was one of the first painters at Papulankutja Artists. This local artists' group started in 2001. Some of his early work was shown in an exhibition in Perth in 2005.

In 2005, his wife, Nuuniwa, passed away. Jimmy then moved back to Kalka to live with his four children. He began painting for Ninuku Arts, Kalka's community art center. This center was set up in 2006.

Since joining Ninuku Arts, Jimmy's work has been shown every year. It is part of the annual Desert Mob exhibition in Alice Springs. His art has also been displayed in other group exhibitions. These have been in Sydney, Canberra, Broome, Melbourne, and Adelaide. He has not yet had an exhibition all by himself.

Stories in His Art

Jimmy Donegan's paintings tell ancestral stories from the Dreamtime. These stories have deep spiritual meaning for his family. He mainly focuses on stories from his father's side of the family.

His father was from Dulu. This is a rock hole in the Gibson Desert. It is known for dingo packs. It is also spiritually linked to the Dingo Dreaming (Papa Tjukurpa). His grandfather's country is Pukara. This is a sacred men's site south of Irrunytju. It is closely connected to the story of the two snake men (Wati Wanampi Kutjara). These are both important creation stories.

Winning Awards

Jimmy Donegan's most famous painting is Papa Tjukurpa munu Pukara. This painting combines both the Dingo Dreaming and the Snake Men stories. It uses different styles and techniques.

In August 2010, this painting won the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award. It first won the award for best painting. Then, it was chosen as the overall winner from all the categories. This was the first time Jimmy Donegan had entered his art into a competition.

Art critics have said that Jimmy's work shows influences from early Western Desert art. He lived in Warburton in the mid-1990s. However, they also note that he has his own new and experimental style.