TUPPY GOODWIN
Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin (b. 1952)
Kungka Kutjara Tjukurpa, 2011
102 x 92 cm. Acrylic on canvas.
ARTIST
Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin (born 1952) is a senior Pitjantjatjara artist from Mimili, located in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia. Born near Bumbali Creek, her father's Country, she moved to Mimili as an infant when it was still known as Everard Park, a cattle station that was returned to Aboriginal ownership through the 1981 Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act.
Goodwin dedicated much of her life to education, working as a preschool teacher at the Mimili Anangu School for thirty years until her retirement in 2009. Her commitment to cultural preservation is evident through her roles as a leader and mentor within the community, tirelessly advocating for initiatives such as the establishment of the Mimili Community church, a preschool, and the art centre.
As a painter, Goodwin has been active with Mimili Maku Arts since its inception in 2009, where she currently serves as chairperson. Her artwork predominantly explores her Tjukurpa (Dreaming), focusing on Antara—a sacred rockhole at Bumbali Creek—and the Maku Tjukurpa (Witchetty Grub Dreaming). Her paintings are characterized by vibrant colours and dynamic brushstrokes, capturing the essence of her ancestral stories and the landscapes of her Country.
Goodwin's artistic achievements have been recognized through various accolades. She was a finalist in the 2010 Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. In 2022, she became the first woman to win Australia's richest landscape prize when she won the Hadley's Art Prize for landscape painting, and in 2023, her work "Antara" (2022) secured the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize at the Bendigo Art Gallery.
Goodwin was married to the late Kunmanara (Mumu Mike) Williams (1952–2019), with whom she shared a deep commitment to cultural preservation and community leadership.
EXHIBITIONS & COLLECTIONS
Her works are held in several prominent collections, including:
- Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
- National Gallery of Australia
- National Gallery of Victoria
- Art Gallery of South Australia
Goodwin is also one of the artists featured in the travelling Songlines exhibition. Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sistersshowcases five First Nations songlines from Australia’s Western and Central Deserts. It uses over 300 paintings and photographs, objects, song, dance and multimedia to narrate the story of the Seven Sisters and their creation of the continent as they travelled from west to east.
Exhibition dates:
- Museokeskus Vapriikki, Tampere, Finland, 11 October 2024 to 30 March 2025
- Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France, 4 April to 2 July 2023
- Humboldt Forum, Berlin, Germany, 17 June to 30 October 2022
- The Box, Plymouth, United Kingdom, 21 October 2021 to 27 February 2022
- Western Australian Museum, Perth, 23 November 2020 to 26 April 2021
- National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 14 September 2017 to 28 February 2018