YALTI NAPANGATI

Yalti Napangati is an Aboriginal artist from the remote community of Kiwirrkura in Western Australia, one of the most isolated communities in the country. She is the sister of renowned artist Yukultji Napangati, who paints with Papunya Tula Artists and is a shareholder of the company.

 

Yalti and her sister are among a small group of Pintupi people who lived a traditional nomadic life in the Western Desert and did not encounter Europeans until 1984. Their first contact occurred near Winparrku (Mount Webb), after which they transitioned from a fully bush-based life to living within established communities. Prior to this, Yalti lived in the area west of Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay), moving across Country in accordance with traditional knowledge and survival practices.

 

Today, Yalti resides in Kiwirrkura with her husband and children, where she continues to paint and maintain strong cultural connections to her Country and heritage. Her work is informed by lived experience of life in the desert prior to contact, carrying a depth of cultural knowledge that is both rare and significant.

 

In 1999, Yalti contributed to the Kiwirrkura women’s collaborative painting project as part of the Western Desert Dialysis Appeal, an important initiative that brought together senior women artists to support community health outcomes. This project also highlighted the strength and unity of women’s cultural and artistic practices in the region.