Biography

Valma Nakamarra White was born in 1997 in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community located 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. Valerie was born into a family of artists. Her mother is Sabrina Napangardi Granites and her Grandmother is Alma Nungarrayi Granites, both established artists who have exhibited in Australia and overseas. Valma grew up listening to her mother and father’s Jukurrpa stories while watching her family paint. She went to the local school in Yuendumu, finishing off her studies at Yirara College, an Aboriginal boarding college in Alice Springs. When she finished school she worked on the Mt Theo Program and on a Walpriri Media project. She is married and has a little baby girl Cerella, born in 2013.

Valma began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, in 2013. She paints her father’s Jukurrpa, Warna Jukurrpa (Snake Dreaming) that relates to her homeland, Mijirlparnta (Mission Creek). These stories have been passed down over the generations for millennia and relate directly to the land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. Valma uses an unrestricted palette to depict a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.

When Valma is not painting she enjoys her home and is ‘house proud’ creating a clean home to share with family and friends, especially when watching TV. She also works occasionally at the art centre assisting with day to day activities. On weekends she sometimes goes hunting with her family.