Tjunkaya Tapaya facts for kids

Tjunkaya Tapaya (born in 1947) is a famous Aboriginal Australian artist. She is best known for her beautiful batik art. Many people consider her one of Australia's top batik artists. Tjunkaya also creates amazing acrylic paintings, weaving, fibre sculptures, ceramics, wood carving, and printmaking.

Early Life and Growing Up

Tjunkaya Tapaya is a member of the Pitjantjatjara people. She was born in 1947 in the desert of South Australia. Her mother traveled from the Northern Territory to Ernabella Mission. Tjunkaya grew up at this mission, which was run by missionaries.

Her Journey as an Artist

Starting Art at Ernabella

In 1948, a special craft room opened at Ernabella Mission. This room helped Tjunkaya and other people develop their artistic skills. They first learned spinning and weaving. Later, they started making batik and paintings.

Over time, the mission closed, and the land went back to the Pitjantjatjara people. The craft room then became Ernabella Arts. This is now a professional art center owned by Aboriginal artists.

Drawing Stories in the Sand

Like many early artists in her community, Tjunkaya's first art style came from milpatjunanyi. This is an old practice from the Western Desert. It involves drawing in the sand to tell stories to children. This tradition is the basis for the classic Ernabella "walka" designs.

Learning Batik Art

Ernabella women began learning how to make batik in 1971. Batik is a method of dyeing fabric using wax to create patterns. In 1974, Ernabella Arts sent Tjunkaya and other Pitjantjatjara women to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. There, they learned more about batik from Indonesian artists. Tjunkaya became one of the most famous batik artists in Australia.

Art Style and Themes

Different Art Forms

Besides batik, Tjunkaya Tapaya creates many other types of art. These include acrylic paintings, weaving, fibre sculptures, ceramics, wood carving, and printmaking. Since 2015, she has focused on painting and tjanpi (grass) sculptures. More recently, she has also returned to making ceramics.

Stories and Designs

Most of Tjunkaya's paintings show places and events from her family's Dreaming stories. These are important cultural stories. Her batik work uses the classic Ernabella style. This style uses hand-drawn, freehand designs called "walka." Unlike some Indonesian batik, Ernabella "walka" are pure designs. They do not directly refer to Dreaming stories or "tjukurpa."

Other Important Work

Tjunkaya Tapaya was the deputy chair of the Ernabella art center. She also led the Nintintjaku Project. This project helped teach at Ernabella Anangu School and worked with the Ernabella NPY youth team.

She has written many things in her native language, Pitjantjatjara. She even created a bilingual children's book. Her writings have appeared in art exhibition books, like the 2017 Desert Mob and Tarnanthi catalogues.

Awards and Recognition

Tjunkaya Tapaya has received many awards for her art and community work.

• In 2009, she won the "Me and My Toyota Art Prize."
• Her work was chosen as a finalist for the Togart Contemporary Art Award in 2011 and 2012.
• In 2012, her tjulpu (bird) tjanpi sculptures were shown at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA).
• A group art project she helped with was a NATSIAA finalist in 2016.
• In 2018, Tjunkaya received the Gladys Elphick Award for Lifetime Achievement.
• On June 8, 2020, she was given a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). This award recognized her great service to Indigenous visual arts and the community.
• She was a NATSIAA finalist again in 2021.
• In 2022, she was nominated for OCPSE Leader of the Year in the Woman of the Year Awards.

Exhibitions and Art Galleries

Tjunkaya Tapaya's art has been shown in many exhibitions. These shows have taken place in Australia and other countries.

Her artwork is part of the collections at several major galleries and museums. These include:

• The National Gallery of Victoria
• The State Library of South Australia
• The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art
• The National Gallery of Australia
• The National Museum of Australia
• The British Museum
• The Scottish National Gallery
• Artbank
• The Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan