Sally M. Nangala Mulda facts for kids
Sally M. Nangala Mulda (born 1957) is an Arrernte and Southern Luritja artist. She lives and works in Alice Springs, Australia. Sally paints for Tangentyere Artists, a group that supports Aboriginal artists.
Life and Art Journey
Sally Mulda was born in Titjikala, a place about 130 kilometers from Alice Springs. She went to school in Amoonguna. When she was a child, an accident caused her to have trouble seeing and made her left arm difficult to use. As a young woman, Sally moved to Alice Springs and now lives in a community called Abbott's Town Camp.
Sally started painting when she was young. However, it was not until 2008, when she began working with Tangentyere Artists, that her unique painting style truly developed. This was also helped by surgery that improved her eyesight.
Mulda is known for her special way of painting. She uses a style that shows people and places in a simple, direct way, often called "figurative" or "naive." Her paintings show many scenes from around Alice Springs. You can see trees, homes, shops, and people in her artwork.
What makes her art even more unique is her addition of handwritten words. These words introduce the topic of her paintings. Her art often shows the daily life of Aboriginal people in Alice Springs, especially those living in town camps. She shows the real challenges and experiences they face. Her work often explores how people in these communities interact with authorities. She highlights the changes and challenges that came after a government program called "the Intervention" in 2007. This program brought new rules and more police presence to Aboriginal communities and town camps.
Major Achievements
Sally Mulda's artwork is held in important art collections and has been shown in many big exhibitions. Here are some of her key achievements:
- She was a finalist in the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2012, 2018, and 2019. This is a very important art prize in Australia.
- She had two solo exhibitions at Raft Art Space in Alice Springs, in 2016 and 2020. A solo exhibition means only her art was shown.
- Her work was featured in "The National 2019: New Australian Art" exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
- She was shortlisted for the Sir John Sulman Prize in 2019, 2021, and 2022. This is another major art award.
- She was also shortlisted for the Archibald Prize in 2021, which is famous for portraits.
- She was a finalist for Hadley’s Art Prize in 2021.
- Her art was part of TARNANTHI: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in Adelaide in 2019.
- She has had four solo exhibitions at Edwina Corlette Gallery in Brisbane: in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2023.
- Mulda is featured in a traveling exhibition called Two Girls from Amoonguna. This exhibition started touring in 2023. In this show, she partnered with fellow artist Marlene Rubuntja. This exhibition was created by Artbank and ACMI. The main part of this exhibition is an animated artwork called Arrkutja Tharra, Kungka Kutjara, Two Girls. This animation tells the story of the artists' successes and the challenges they have faced.
See also
- Art of Australia
