Vanessa Inkamala was born in Ntaria (Hermannsburg) in 1968, with a rich artistic heritage; her great-uncle is the renowned Albert Namatjira, and her aunt, the late Ivy Pareroultja, was also a respected artist. Following in her family’s footsteps, Vanessa’s younger brother, Reinhold Inkamala, is an established landscape painter.
In her late 20s, Vanessa married Fabian Conway, an Eastern Arrernte man from Santa Teresa, situated east of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Immersed in the vibrant artistic community there, Vanessa honed her craft, creating works inspired by the cultural richness of the region.
Currently based in Mparntwe, Vanessa dedicates her days to her artistic practice at the Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre. Her journey with the art centre began in 2010, and her distinctive style quickly captured the attention of major collectors. Her works are now part of esteemed collections including those at the University of Technology Sydney, National Museum Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, and Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art.
Vanessa’s artistic journey has been marked by participation in special projects, including a professional development workshop led by acclaimed artist and friend Tony Albert. Her contributions to the workshops, which aimed to explore socio-political themes, were profound. Notably, her piece ‘It was a Bright Country’ illustrates the impacts of colonization and globalization on the land, depicted with vibrancy and colour.
In 2017 during a Cicada Press print workshop, Vanessa reimagined this impactful work as a multi-plate etching, titled ‘Before and After – McDonalds,’ which was showcased at TARNANTHI: Festival of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. Her dedication to exploring complex themes through her art continues to resonate within the artistic community.
Special Projects:
2016 Cicada Press print workshop with Tony Albert, UNSW, Sydney
2017 Group installation, Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs
2019 Cicada Press etching workshop, Sydney, NSW
2024 Solo installation ‘Tjoritja Cockatoos’, Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs
2025 Group installation, Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs
Archives: Artists
SAM-synced artist profiles.
Raelene Inkamala
Raelene Inkamala was born in Alice Springs. She is the daughter of Clifford Inkamala and Phyllis Inkamala and is a Western Aranda woman. Her father painted with water colour and oil paints and her mother worked at various crafts including making music sticks, bracelets, necklaces, place mats, crochet and handbags. When Raelene was young she would help her mother making these things.
Raelene was born in Alice Springs and spent a lot of time in Hermannsburg growing up. When her parents passed away she lived with her aunties, her father’s sisters. She learnt how to do screen printing and would make t-shirts in the women’s centre at Hermannsburg to sell to tourists. She also did a bit of dot painting there. Now she is learning watercolour painting at Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre and is working alongside her daughter Dellina Inkamala and her sister Kathy Inkamala who are also both artists.
Dellina Inkamala
Dellina Inkamala was born in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), however, grew up in the following Aboriginal communities: Ntaria (Hermannsburg), Wallace Rockhole and Papunya. Delllina is the daughter of Raelene Inkamala (Kathy Inkamala’s older sister) and Hillary Pareroultja (Hubert Pareroultja’s younger brother). Both Kathy and Hubert, award winning artists, have inspired Dellina’s professional development and artist career.
Dellina started drawing when she was in school and enjoyed it. This was the beginning of her painting journey, experimenting with dot paintings on canvas. Dellina has been painting Dreaming stories at Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre since 2008. Some years later she became interested in watercolour paintings, after watching her aunty and uncle paint at the Art Centre.
From 2016 Dellina has been studying the watercolour painting technique. “I like using watercolour as I can see the view of my Country come alive in my paintings. It’s challenging for me, but I’m getting better with the help of my auntie Kathy Inkamala and uncle Hubert Pareroultja”, Dellina Inkamala.
Special Projects:
Glass workshop, Canberra Glassworks, December 2024.
2024 Group installation, Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs
2025 Group installation, Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs
Elton Wirri
Elton is the son of reputed Herrmansburg School artists Doris Abbott and Kevin Wirri.
At a young age Elton came to the art centre with his parents and showed a keen interest in painting watercolours like his father. He immediately displayed a great talent and with some instruction from his father he began painting skilled watercolours from the age of fifteen. He was so keen to paint that if he had no paperboard in front of him he would paint on bits of scrap paper or the table top!
As well as pursuing his interest in watercolours Elton has also developed his skills in acrylic painting and has produced a number of works in this medium including portraits combined with landscape. His interests also extend to theatre and he performed in a sellout production of the play ‘Ngapartji Ngapartji’ at the Melbourne International Arts Festival in October 2005. The play completed a sellout week in Melbourne 2006 and at the Sydney Opera House.
Elton also performed recently in the award winning play ‘Namatjira’ which toured around the country between 2010 and 2012.
Exhibitions:
2004 Desert Mob, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT2004 Advocate Central Australian Art Award, Alice Springs, NT2005 Desert Mob, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT2006 Hermannsburg School of Art – Watercolour Exhibition, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT2006 Desert Mob, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT2006 Hermannsburg School of Art Exhibition, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT2007 Solo Exhibition, Birrung Gallery, Sydney, NSW2007 Desert Mob, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT2008 The Namatjira circle-landscapes of Central Australia, Birrung Gallery, Sydney, NSW2008 Desert Mob, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT2008 Togart Contemporary Art Awards, Darwin and Alice Springs, NT2008 CCAE, A New Beginning Exhibition, Darwin, NT2008 ‘The Legacy of Albert Namatjira Today’ Soma Galleries, Adelaide, SA2009 Real to Surreal, Scenes from the Centre: Journey with the New Generation of Hermannsburg Watercolour Artists, Tandanya, Adelaide, SA2009 Beyond Batterby, Recent Watercolour by Central Australian Artists, Hobart, TAS2009 The Watercolourists of Central Australia, Indigenart, Melbourne, VIC2009 Solo Exhibition, Birrung World Vision Gallery, Sydney, NSW2009 Desert Mob Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT2009 30 under 30 Exhibition, Indigenart, Melbourne, VIC2009 Wirri Mob Watercolours – Recent paintings by Central Australian Aboriginal Artists Kevin & Elton Wirri2010 Telstra Art Award Finalist2010 Araluen Watching This Place2011 Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC2011 Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT2012 Damian Minton Gallery, Sydney, NSW2012 The Lockup, Newcastle, NSW2012 Regional Art Gallery, Burnie, TAS2012 Art Mob, Launceston, TAS2012 Art Mob, Hobart, TAS2012 Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston, VIC2012 Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, SA2012 Talapi Gallery, Alice Springs, NT2012 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, NT2013 The Namatjira Legacy, Tali Gallery, Sydney, NSW2014 Namatjira to Now, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT Publications:
2004 Article in the Alice Springs News; April 16th2004 Article in the Sydney morning herald2006 Painting chosen for reproduction in the 2005 Jukurrpa Diary
Mervyn Rubuntja
Mervyn was born at the Telegraph Station in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). His mother Cynthia (Kamara) Obitja was a Western Aranda woman. His father was the late Mr Wenten Rubuntja Pengarte, a famous artist.
Mervyn’s father was an important role model for him. He was a senior lawman and a respected member of his community. He fought for Aboriginal rights and protection of the land, working alongside the Central Land Council and assisting in the Mabo agreement.
When Mervyn was 13 years old, his family moved to Ntaria (Hermannsburg), where he first saw watercolour paintings as he watched his uncles Maurice, Oscar, and Keith Namatjira painting like their father Albert. Arnulf Ebatarinja, another uncle, kindled Mervyn’s painting talent when he gave him some watercolour paperboard and taught him to paint.
Mervyn’s family moved back to Mparntwe in 1975, and he began to paint with Basil Rantji, who taught him how to mix colours.
In 2006, Mervyn was invited to submit a painting for the “Mornington Peninsular Works on Paper” Exhibition. In 2018, Mervyn’s artwork was featured in the Badu Gili projection onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House, showcasing his talent and heritage to a wide audience. In 2021Mervyn won the NATSIAA Awards in Darwin (3D category) in a collaborative work with artist Hubert Pareroultja.
Projects:
2013 Speaker at “Haunted Landscapes Presences in the art of Albert Namtjira & Rex Battarbee”. A public symposium presented by the Writing & Society. The State Library, Sydney, NSW
2014 Public Art, Mural at the Alice Plaza, Alice Springs
2016 Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs (Ground projection)
2016 Cicada Press print workshop with Tony Albert, UNSW, Sydney
2017 Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs, (Honouring Space)
2018 Badu Gili, painting projection on the eastern Bennelong sail, Sydney Opera House, Sydney
2019 Cicada Press print workshop, UNSW, Sydney
2020 Public Art, window wraps at the Alice Plaza through Red Hot Arts, Alice Springs, NT
Mona Lisa Clements
Mona Lisa (Benita) is the daughter of artist Gwenda Namatjira (deceased) and great granddaughter of Albert Namatjira. She paints her country both in dot paintings depictions and watercolours. Mona Lisa also paints figurative images of her family and their learning of the watercolour painting tradition. She often comes to Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre to learn from the elders and get inspiration from old photographs and stories.
In her own words: “I paint the current and old Namatjira Family and the old days in Hermannsburg. For example, I painted my uncle Kevin Namatjira (deceased) while he painted his family in Hermannsburg at the Cafe, at the Hermannsburg Precinct. I also painted Lenie Namatjira (deceased), my aunty teaching her grandchildren Carissa and Kiara Malthouse at Hermannsburg how to paint in watercolours. I paint stories that people have told me about or that I see in pictures from the old days. For instance, how water was sourced from the creek: Western Aranda people were getting water for their families in buckets. I paint people and children from the community painting out bush near the Finke River. I always paint my Country, the West MacDonnell ranges and Mt Hermannsburg in the background or my paintings.” Benita Clements
Special Projects and prizes:
2016 Cicada Press print workshop with Tony Albert, UNSW, Sydney
2019 Burnie Print Prize 2019 (Shortlisted), Tasmania
Reinhold Inkamala
Reinhold was born in Alice Springs. His mother and father were both from Ntaria (Hermannsburg) and thus Reinhold’s fathers dreaming and his own are Mt. Hermannsburg.
As a young man Reinhold was an ace AFL football player but an accident resulted in a brain injury that stopped him from playing. Reinhold is married to Cathy (Jennifer) Wirri and has two daughters with her. Watercolour artist Kevin Wirri is his father in law.
Reinhold taught himself to paint by drawing first. He loves to paint and draw his father’s country. He paints beautiful landscapes with great technique and unusual and interesting uses of colour.
His grandparents the Pareroultja’s taught Reinhold to paint when he was a school child using pencils. Artist Ivy Pareroultja is like a mother to Reinhold.
Special Projects:
2014 Public Art, Mural at the Alice Plaza, Alice Springs, NT2014 Knara Nunaka Tjurretja – Our Big Country: The West MacDonnell Ranges, Highly commented at the 31st Telstra Arts Awards2015 Tjukurpa Calendar, IAD Press2016 Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs (Illuminated skirt)2016 Cicada Press print workshop with Tony Albert, UNSW, Sydney2019 Lumen Prints Workshop with AGNSW, Alice Springs, NT2019 Cicada Press etching workshop, Sydney, NSW
Everard Pei Pei
I grew up at Ulpunda, a tiny outstation near Ntaria (Hermannsburg) where my grandparents Betty Namatjira Wheeler and Marcus Wheeler live.
I learned to paint by watching them paint the West MacDonnell Ranges. I would try painting myself but sometimes I would feel shame. Recently I started to come to Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre and I hope to become a professional artist.
I like painting because I like to do something different and keep myself busy. Being an artist aligns with my goals and plans.
In my free time I go visit family, we share stories and talk about our art practice, our culture and our Country.
Carita Coulthard
Carita, whose Traditional Country is Kings Canyon, has lived in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) for over 40 years. Her father’s traditional land was Pertama. Her mother was from Ntaria (Hermannsburg). Carita has been actively creating art for the past 7 years. In recent years she has been exploring watercolor techniques, adding to her growing artistic repertoire.
Special Projects: Glass workshop, Canberra Glassworks, December 2024.
Mandy Malbunka
Mandy was born in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Her mother comes from Alice Springs and stays in one of the town camps and her father is from Hermannsburg.
In her early years, she has stayed at her father’s place in an outstation named Lyiltjarra near Gilbert Springs. Her first experience in art was to watch and learn from Rhona Panangka Rubuntja, doing pottery at Hermannsburg Potters.
She moved to town when she was 12 and has stayed there since.
She has been doing dot paintings in her early teens and came to Iltja Ntjarra to learn about watercolours. Selma Coulthard has been a strong influence and inspired her to carry on landscape theme. She also introduced it with new themes such as old rusty cars, animals, and local native flora.
Mandy has also been involved in other projects:
Hand Painted Earrings with Goose Magpie in 2021Family Connection Exhibition at Ngununggula in 2023Post Office Mural in Alice Springs in 2023Country to Couture, Darwin, 2023Tarnanthi Exhibition, Adelaide, 20203PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2024Country to Couture, Darwin, 2024MARS Gallery, Vic, 2025