Yvonne Koolmatrie facts for kids

Yvonne Koolmatrie, born in 1944, is a talented Australian artist. She is a weaver from the Ngarrindjeri people, an Aboriginal group in South Australia. Her amazing work helps keep traditional Ngarrindjeri weaving alive.

Early Life and Background

Yvonne Koolmatrie was born in Wudinna, a town in South Australia. Her father, Joseph Roberts, was a Kokatha man. Her mother, Margaret, was a Ngarrindjeri and Ramindjeri woman from the Coorong area. Yvonne grew up in Meningie and the Coorong region. Later, she moved to Berri, a town in the Riverland.

Her Weaving Career

Yvonne Koolmatrie learned how to weave in the early 1980s. She was taught by an elder and skilled weaver named Dorothy Kartinyeri. They used a special technique called "coiled bundle weaving." This method uses local plants like spiny-headed sedge, which Yvonne calls bilbili, and river rushes.

Yvonne is famous for helping save this traditional Ngarrindjeri craft. Her weaving shows that Ngarrindjeri culture is still strong and active. She uses her art to prove that these traditions are not lost.

What She Weaves

Yvonne's woven creations include many different items. She makes eel traps, turtles, mats, and bowls. She even creates models of biplanes! She found that woven sedge grass gave her lots of freedom to imagine new things. This helped her create the unique woven art she is known for.

Yvonne's work is also inspired by Janet Watson. Janet Watson was another Indigenous Australian woman who learned weaving from her family. Janet made woven monoplane and biplane models in 1942, which are now in the South Australia Museum.

Where Her Art Is Displayed

Yvonne Koolmatrie's artworks are shown in many important art galleries. These include:

• The National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan
• The South Australian Museum
• The National Museum of Australia
• The Art Gallery of Western Australia
• The National Gallery of Victoria
• The National Gallery of Australia

Awards and Recognition

In 1997, Yvonne was chosen to represent Australia at a big art event. This was the 47th Venice Biennale, where she showed her work alongside Judy Watson and Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

In 2016, she received the Red Ochre Award. This award is given to outstanding Indigenous Australian artists for their lifetime achievements. It is decided by other artists.

In 2017, Yvonne's work was featured in the third national Indigenous Art Triennial. This exhibition was called Defying Empire. Four of her woven pieces were included. Her artwork, River Dreaming (2012), was bought by the National Gallery of Australia in 2016.

Yvonne also received the South Australian Premier’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2015.

In 2020, Yvonne Koolmatrie was one of six artists featured in the ABC TV series This Place: Artist Series. This show was a partnership between the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Gallery of Australia. It shared stories about the artists' work, their land, and their communities.

From 2020 to 2021, Yvonne was part of the National Gallery of Australia's Know My Name project. This project celebrates the important contributions of Australian women artists.

Exhibitions and Works

Yvonne Koolmatrie's art has been shown in many exhibitions. Here are some of them:

• 1997: Eel trap, made from sedge rushes (Lepidosperma canescens), shown at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
• 2015: Tarnanthi at the Art Gallery of SA
• 2000: Beyond The Pale at the Adelaide Biennial
• 2000: Festival of the Dreaming during the Sydney Olympics
• 1997: Off Shore: Onsite at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
• 1991: Two Countries at Tandanya
• 1990: Look At Us Now: South Australian Aboriginal Artists at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
• 1989: Ngarrindjeri Basketry and Painting at JamFactory, Adelaide
• 1987: Ngarrindjeri Art and Craft at the South Australian Museum