Biography

Kasey-Anne Nampijinpa Gallagher was born in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Nyirripi, originally an outstation of Yuendumu but now a small community, 440 km west of Alice Springs in Northern Territory. She is the daughter of Sabrina Nungarrayi Gibson and Duncan Gallagher and has one sister and two brothers. Her grandmother is Mary Napangardi Gallagher, an established artist with Warlukurlangu Artists. Kasey-Anne went to the local Nyirripi school, followed by Kormilda College, an Aboriginal boarding college in Darwin. When she returned to Nyirripi she worked for the Council Office.

Kasey-Anne began painting with Warlukurlangu in 2014. When she was growing up she watched her grandma paint and listened to her stories. “I really wanted to paint . . . I am happy painting.” She paints her father’s Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming), stories that have been passed down to her by her parents and their parents before them for millennia. She uses traditional shapes and an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.

When she is not painting, she likes to visit family in Yuendumu; go hunting with family and friends; and play softball.