Margaret Lewis Napangardi

Margaret Napangardi Lewis was born at Mount Doreen Station, an expansive cattle breeding station located approximately 55 km west of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory. Growing up, Margaret accompanied her parents on journeys across the country, attending school initially in Papunya and later at the local school in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community situated 290 km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.

The daughter of Paddy Japanangka Lewis, a distinguished law man and artist, Margaret is part of a creative family. She has two brothers, John and Willy, and a sister named Dorothy Napangardi Robertson, also a recognized artist affiliated with Warlukurlangu Artists. As a Warlpiri woman, Margaret currently resides in Nyirripi.

Margaret's artistic journey began at Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal-owned and governed Art Centre in Yuendumu, where she produced paintings between 1986 and 2001 while residing there. Additionally, she participated in the Yuendumu Batik program coordinated by Peter Toyne from 1986 to 1988. During her time in Yuendumu, Margaret worked in the kitchen and at the Art Centre. Later, she relocated to Nyirripi, and it wasn't until 2007 that she began painting regularly.

Her Dreamings encompass Karnta Jukurrpa (Women's Dreaming), Ngalyipi Jukurrpa (Snake Vine Dreaming), and Wanakiji Jukurrpa (Bush Tomato Dreaming). Since 2009, Margaret has been immersed in painting the Mina Mina Jukurrpa, a Dreaming associated with a region far west of Yuendumu on the border of the Tanami and Gibson Desert. This Dreaming is shared with her 'big sisters' Betsy Napangardi Lewis and Judy Napangardi Watson. Mina Mina holds profound cultural significance, representing a women's Dreaming site where ancestral women of all ages traverse the landscape, engaging in dances, ceremonies, and the creation of the country.