Tjunguringanyi (Come Together), brings together three of the founding members and leading voices of Mimili Maku Arts, Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, and Robert Fielding.
Mimili Maku Arts is an Aboriginal-owned contemporary art studio and cultural institution on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. The philosophy of Tjunguringanyi (come together) is at the core of Mimili Maku’s practice, bringing multiple generations together to share ideas, stories, and inma (song and dance). Each artist in this exhibition offers a distinct yet interconnected perspective on the continual evolution of Anangu culture.
In her accompanying curatorial essay Dr Gerry Bobsien, Director of Maitland Regional Art Gallery, writes, “Tjunguringanyi presents three cultural custodians – a triumvirate of powerful storytellers profoundly linked not only through family and each other, but also to the foundation of Mimili Maku Arts and their place within the Mimili art movement. Locating yourself in this place takes a moment of standing in front of the work of each of these artists. Mimili is a remote community, at the base of the Everard Ranges in the centre of this continent and home to Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, and Robert Fielding.”
The work of senior Pitjantjatjara artist and renowned ngangkari (traditional healer) Betty Kuntiwa Pumani captures the beauty, power, and resilience of Country. Her practice draws from a strong matrilineal line, particularly the influence of her mother, Milatjari Pumani, one of the founding members of Mimili Maku Arts. The distinctive reds that run through Pumani’s paintings evoke the rocky desert landscape of Antara and reflect the powerful energy of Country, which her family has cared for forever.
A celebrated artist, Pumani won the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2017 and twice won the General Painting Award at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (2015, 2016). In 2021, she was commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia to create a monumental 10 x 3 metre painting, now held in their permanent collection.
Pumani has held numerous solo exhibitions with including Titutjara – Ongoing (2024) and kunpu naranyi (standing strong) (2022). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions such as The National, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (2021), kulata Tjuta, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, France (2020), and Tarnanthi, the Art Gallery of South Australia (2017). Her paintings are held in major public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin is a senior Pitjantjatjara artist, chairperson of Mimili Maku Arts, political advocate, and cultural leader. Through dynamic brushstrokes and rich colours, Goodwin’s paintings honour Antara and its songlines, expressing the deep cultural knowledge she has been entrusted with and now passes on to the next generation of Anangu.
Goodwin was a pre-school teacher at the Mimili Anangu School for thirty years, sharing stories through inma (dance and song) and storytelling and in 2009 she began painting at Mimili Maku Arts. Goodwin has represented Mimili Maku both nationally and internationally, alongside her late husband, Kunmanara (Mumu Mike) Williams, she has played a pivotal role in mentoring younger generations in her community. Her paintings have been exhibited across Australia and internationally in Belgium, Germany, the USA, Singapore, and France. She has received significant recognition, including winning the Hadley’s Art Prize (2022), the Muswellbrook Art Prize (2023), and the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize (2023). Her work is held in major collections such as the Art Gallery of South Australia, ArtBank, Fondation Opale, and the Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection.
Robert Fielding is a contemporary artist of Pakistani, Afghan, Western Arrernte, and Yankunytjatjara descent, based in the Mimili Community. His work spans sculpture, printmaking, traditional craftsmanship, and painting, blending deep cultural roots with a contemporary focus on social and political issues. As a son of the Stolen Generation, Fielding’s practice honours his ancestry while engaging in truth-telling that bridges perceived opposites. His art is a call for unity, creating connections and community through reconciliation and dialogue.
Fielding is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, printmaking, installation, and sculpture. Deeply committed to collaboration and community, he has built strong creative relationships across Australia, particularly through recent residencies at Canberra Glassworks and McClelland Sculpture Park (2023). Fielding held his first international solo exhibition at Fondation Opale, Switzerland, in 2018, and was featured in the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony at the National Gallery of Australia in 2022. In 2024, he presented a major solo survey exhibition Tjukurpa Handle It at Maitland Regional Art Gallery and guest lectured at the Victorian College of the Arts as the recipient of the Stuart Black Fellowship. He is the 2025 recipient of the prestigious Jeffrey Smart Commission at the Samstag Museum of Art.
His solo exhibitions span major institutions, including Curtin University Gallery, Art Gallery of Ballarat, and Fondation Opale, while his work has also been included in significant national and international group exhibitions such as The National (2023), Tarnanthi (2019), and kulata tjuta (France, 2020). Fielding’s work is held in key public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of South Australia, ArtBank, and Fondation Opale.