Kathleen Petyarre

Kathleen Petyarre (also known as Kweyetwemp) was a distinguished Alyawarre and Eastern Anmatyerre artist from the Utopia region in Central Australia. Born around 1940 at Atnangkere, a significant water soakage on the western boundary of Utopia Station, she was raised in a traditional lifestyle, deeply connected to her country and its stories. Kathleen was the niece of renowned artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye and sister to several other notable artists, including Gloria, Violet, Myrtle, and Jeanna Petyarre.

In the late 1970s, Kathleen began creating batik artworks with other women at Utopia, learning the medium through community workshops. However, due to allergies to the chemicals used in batik, she transitioned to painting on canvas in the late 1980s. Her involvement in the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association’s (CAAMA) 'Summer Project' in 1988–89 marked the beginning of her painting career.

Kathleen's artworks are renowned for their fine dotting technique, which she used to represent her Dreamings and the landscapes of her country. Her signature works often depict the Mountain Devil Lizard (Arnkerrth) Dreaming, illustrating the journeys of this ancestral being across the desert landscape. She also painted themes related to bush seeds and women's ceremonies (Awelye).

Her contributions to Aboriginal art were recognised with several awards, including the prestigious National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 1996. Kathleen's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and her paintings are held in major public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.