Acrylic on canvas

Brenda was born in 1983 in Alice Springs, NT. She grew up in Amata, a community on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands located approximately 115km south of Uluru in South Australia. Her mother, Nita Williamson, paints at the Tjala art centre in Amata. Brenda’s maternal grandmother, Ruby Williamson, was a renowned artist who also painted at the Tjala art centre. Brenda learned to paint her ‘kaliny-kalinypa Tjukurpa’ (honey grevillea [Grevillea juncifolia] Dreaming) from her grandmother. Her mother’s family taught her to speak Pitjantjatjara, while her father’s family taught her to speak Pertame, a southern dialect of Arrernte spoken in the Finke River region.

The art centre is famous for its gloriously colourful acrylic paintings with many of its members work collectable having been featured in hundreds of exhibitions both in Australia and around the world. The art centre is both a stronghold of traditional Warlpiri culture and an essential part of Yuendumu's community life.