Senior Pitjantjatjara artist, Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, was born in 1952 near Bumbali Creek in the Northern Territory, close to the border with South Australia; daughter to Nguyarangu, her father whose Country is near Docker River in the Northern Territory, and her mother, Emily Nyanyanta whose Country is Wintutjuru, west of Fregon (now Kaltjiti on APY Lands). As a young child Ngintja Goodwin moved with her family to the community of Mimili in South Australia. At the time, Mimili was Everard Park, a cattle station where the artist grew up working for rations and which, following sustained advocacy, became the first property to be returned to Traditional Owners prior to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act 1981. During her formative years, it was here that Country, tradition, and ceremony were to have a lasting imprint on Ngintja Goodwin, sparking her lifelong commitment to passing on cultural knowledge to the next generation of Anangu. Nowadays, Mimili Maku Arts is an Aboriginal-owned contemporary art studio and cultural institution. Ngintja Goodwin is its chairperson.
With her first husband Reggie Goodwin, she raised three children, David, Maxine and Neville, and in the years that followed she built a life of meaningful leadership within her community. For three decades, Ngintja Goodwin taught at the Mimili Anangu School, passing on language, inma (song and dance) and the living knowledge of Tjukurpa (creation story). Her second marriage to the renowned Pitjantjatjara artist and significant activist Kunmanara (Mumu Mike) Williams (1952-2019) deepened her public role and community leadership. Together they successfully advocated for support for a community church, pre-school and eventually the art centre, which has become central to the community’s cultural life and livelihood.
The Tjukurpa story – from the Antara region of north-west South Australia – of the witchetty grub: ‘It’s a very old storyline from a long time ago, and I was taught about it when I moved to Mimili as a young girl. Now I look after it and teach the children about it, the Antara story. There are lots of songs associated with this place, and I love to sing them when I paint, share them with my granddaughters and friends.’
From the ESSAY | Keeper of Country
By Sarah Heatherington
Her solo exhibition, Maku Inma, took place in 2026 at OLSEN, Warrane Sydney.
Senior Pitjantjatjara artist, Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, was born in 1952 near Bumbali Creek in the Northern Territory, close to the border with
