Emily Kam Kngwarray

Renowned Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray created compelling, powerful works that reflect her extraordinary life as a senior Anmatyerr woman from the Utopia region of Australia.

One of the world’s most significant painters to emerge in the late 20th century, her lived experience and spiritual engagement with her homelands was translated into vibrant batiks and later into monumental paintings on canvas. Discover rich textiles, paintings, film and audio elements that embody the majestic scope of Kngwarray’s Country and ancestral heritage.

Kngwarray was in her late 70s when she began painting in earnest. For the next eight years until her death, she painted over 3,000 canvases – roughly one per day – creating timeless art that encapsulates the wisdom, experience and authority she gained throughout her life.

Created in collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), this will be the first large-scale presentation of Kngwarray’s work ever held in Europe and a celebration of her astonishing career as one of Australia’s greatest artists.

Curated by Kelli Cole, Director of Curatorial & Engagement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia; Kimberley Moulton, Adjunct Curator, Indigenous Art, Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational, Charmaine Toh, Senior Curator, International Art and Genevieve Barton, Assistant Curator, International Art, Tate Modern.

Exhibition organised by Tate Modern and the National Gallery of Australia based on an exhibition curated by Kelli Cole, Warumungu and Luritja peoples and Hetti Perkins, Arrernte and Kalkadoon peoples.