Judith Pungkarta Inkamala
Judith Pungkarta Inkamala
Born:
1948
Language Group:
Western Arrernte (Aranda)
Country:
Ntaria (Hermannsburg), West of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Medium:
Acrylic on Canvas and Linen, Ceramics and Pottery
Subjects:
Country, Bird, Imuna (Bush Food), Cockatoos, Ducks, Untitled, Palm Valley, Budgerigars
Judith was born in Hermannsburg to Riedle Topoura, a Luritja man from the Mt Heughlin region, and Veronica Arapinya, a Southern Aranda woman from Henbury. In her early years, she was friends with Jillian Namatjira and recalls watching Albert Namatjira as he painted his watercolours.
After completing her schooling at the Lutheran Mission, Judith worked as a cleaner and learned typing from Mrs. Arnold. She later married Graham Kremer Inkamala, and together they had eight children.
Judith joined the Hermannsburg Potters in 1993, gradually mastering the techniques of hand-building pots and illustrating animals. In 1995, she began creating landscapes, developing a distinctive painterly style that echoed the effect of painting on canvas.
Judith served as Chair and is a senior member of the Hermannsburg Potters Aboriginal Corporation. She was also a former member of the renowned Hermannsburg Choir. Judith is an inspiring and respected leader in her community of Ntaria (Hermannsburg), known for her dedication to passing on cultural and ceramic knowledge across generations.
Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Gordon Darling Collection, Melbourne, VIC
Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth, WA
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra, ACT
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
1993
Continuity, Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-Op, Sydney, NSW
1994
City Hall Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
1996
Ampinye - Place, Tandanya Kaurna Gallery, Adelaide, SA
1997
Arrenhe - The One Now, Tandanya Kaurna Gallery, Adelaide, SA
1998
Arnanjapera Nunaka - Our World, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
1999
Awelye, DESART Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2000
Out of the Desert, DESART Gallery, Vaucluse, Sydney, NSW
2001
Harmonic Visions, Tamworth City Gallery, Tamworth, NSW
2003
Namatjira Country, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2003
This is Our Country, Childers Regional Gallery, Childers, QLD
2005
22nd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
2005
Arrkutja Wurra, Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2006
Senior Women of the Central Desert, Gadfly Gallery, Perth, WA
2006
Pmara Nurnaka Eta Kuta, Our Land's Alive, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2007
The Women's Show, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
1994
11th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
Finalist
1995
Sidney Myer Fund Australia Day Ceramic Award, VIC
Finalist
1998
Fourth National Indigenous Heritage Art Awards, Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra, ACT
Highly Commended
2007
24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
Finalist
2022
Australia Council Award for Visual Arts, Sydney, NSW
Recipient
Mellor, D. & Norman, R.
(1997) Circles About the Body, University of Tasmania
McCulloch, S.
(1999) Contemporary Aboriginal Art: a guide to the rebirth of an ancient culture, Allen & Unwin
Isaacs, J.
(2000) Hermannsburg Potters, Aranda Artists of Central Australia, Craftsman House
Hermannsburg Potters
(2024) Hermannsburg Potters, "https://www.hermannsburgpotters.com.au/"
Bim Bam Brisbane
(2023) Bim Bam Brisbane , "https://bimbambrisbane.com.au/pages/judith-inkamala-pungkarta"
