Honoured for lifelong contribution to the arts

By PETER ROWE

Two prominent Indigenous WA artists were among nine Western Australians recognised for their outstanding, lifelong contributions to the arts sector and community at the State Cultural Treasures Awards in Perth on Monday.

Peggy Griffiths Madij, a prolific artist, performer, senior cultural knowledge keeper and highly respected Elder and mentor and Katjarra Butler – a pioneering artist and senior Pintupi woman who is recognised as one of the most significant and unique Western Desert artists today, were both honoured as State Cultural Treasures.

Peggy was born in 1950 at Newry Station east of Goonoonoorrang/Kununurra, and grew up learning from her Miriwoong cultural leaders and soon became a renowned dancer in the community.

She remembers being hidden from welfare so as not to be taken as many were in the Stolen Generations and, as she grew up, she was moved from school to work as a housemaid.

In 1985, Peggy began working with Waringarri Arts, carving and painting gerdewoon/boab nuts, before trying her hand at ochre paintings and making limited-edition prints.

As a custodian of Country, Peggy committed herself to her cultural responsibilities including painting and dances or Junba. She was instrumental in sharing this knowledge with her five children, 27 grandchildren and the Miriwoong community. Peggy’s arts practice is a constant expression of her Country and Ngarranggarni or Dreaming.

With three solo exhibitions, 19 institutional exhibitions, seven university exhibitions and five international exhibitions, Peggy’s career spans over 35 years.

Her diverse and innovative arts practice includes painting, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, fashion, animation, multidisciplinary installation and performance.

In 2016, Peggy was awarded a fellowship from the then Department of Culture and the Arts to focus on her ceramic practice.

This led to her breathtaking large-scale installation exhibited at the Tarnanthi, in 2019, which received significant and deserved critical acclaim.

Peggy continues to lead by example, spearheading the Waringarri textiles project, engaging younger women to learn bush plant knowledge and develop economic independence.

Her creative leadership was recognised in 2020 when she was awarded the Cultural Adornment and Wearable Art Category at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards.

Her work is held in several significant national collections including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the National Gallery of Australia, Parliament House Collection in Canberra and numerous university and private collections.

Katjarra Butler is a pioneering artist and senior Pintupi woman recognised as one of the most significant and unique Western Desert artists today.

Katjarra was born deep in the Western Desert at a place called Kuun. Kuun is both the name of the waterhole and the name for for yellow ochre.

Katjarra lived a traditional nomadic life, until she and her family were taken to Papunya in the 1960s.

She lived in several communities until 1981 when she and her husband, Papunya Tula founding member Anatjari Tjakamarra, established the community of Tjukurla in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia along with a number of other families.

Katjarra began painting in the 1990s after her husband passed away, honouring his wishes to continue to record their Country and stories.

Katjarra’s seniority and significant knowledge of Country and Tjukurrpa (Dreaming), means she is responsible for, and depicts, more than a dozen important sites. Over the course of her career, Katajarra has developed a distinctive style characterised by wide, luscious brushstrokes and broad fields of colour.

Katjarra has held three solo exhibitions as well as dozens of group exhibitions across Australia and internationally.

Her work is held in multiple national collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria, the South Australian Museum and the National Museum of Australia.

As described by her grandson, Winston Green, “… each brush stroke embossed on canvas is a place she has history with and a relationship to.

These are not just locations, but places that make one belong through a deeply spiritual and emotional connection. These places hold Tjukurrpa, knowledge, history and spirituality”. Katjarra’s work is always innovative and has profoundly impacted and inspired younger generations of artists.