Leavannia Nampijinpa Watson

Leavannia Nampijinpa Watson was born in 1990 in the Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. She has grown up in Yuendumu and did her schooling at the local school. She is the daughter of Jill Nungarrayi and Lawrence Jangala Watson and the grand-daughter of the late Judy Napangardi Watson who was one of the most senior artists with Warlukurlangu Artists.

Although very young, Leavannia first started painting on little boards through the Warlukurlangu Artists Art Association school cultural maintenance program held during school holidays. She has being painting professionally since 2008. She paints her father’s Jukurrpa stories, particularly Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) which travelled from east to Mikanji west of Yuendumu. These stories have been passed down through the generations for millennia. She uses an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of her traditional culture. Her favourite past time is playing basketball and softball. She also likes going to the disco run by the Yuendumu youth program. She still goes hunting with her father, and loves trips into Alice Springs for shopping.