Sally M Nangala Mulda

Arrernte and Southern Luritja

Sally M Nangala Mulda was born in Titjikala in 1957, and currently resides in Abbott’s Town Camp by the Todd River in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.

Her figurative paintings of bold fluid movement, layering of colours and cursive descriptive text candidly depict lived experiences within this camp. She lays bare her reality, cataloguing domestic scenes; cooking damper and talking story, alongside snippets of life since the 2007 Northern Territory Intervention; police pouring out grog and camping in the riverbed.

Mulda reserves a didactic approach, and paints her stories, shared by many Indigenous Australians, with emotional and political honesty. Having only taken up painting later in life in 2008, Mulda’s career has been met with much success, and seen her celebrated as one of the nation’s top contemporary artists. Mulda’s work is held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Artbank, Araluen Art Centre, the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum, the University of Queensland Art Museum and Utrecht Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art collections, as well as many private collections.

Mulda was a finalist in the Sir John Sulman Prize (2022, 2021, 2019), Alice Prize (2022, 2020), Archibald Prize (2021), Hadley’s Art Prize (2021), Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize (2020/21), Contemporary First Nations Art Award, King & Wood Mallesons (2020), Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (2019, 2018, 2012) and winner of the ‘Rights on Show’ Annual Human Rights Art Award (2011).

Image credit: Sally M Mnangala Mulda at Tarnanthi, 2019 (photography by Saul Steed).