Barbara Mbitjana Moore

Barbara Mbitjana Moore (born 1964) is an Anmatyerre woman who grew up in Ti-Tree in the Northern Territory, moving later to Amata in South Australia's Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. In April 2003, Moore began painting at Amata's Tjala Arts, and, since then, has received widespread recognition. Moore won a National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2012 and has been a finalist in many other years. Moore has also been a finalist for the Wynne Prize. Serving first as a cleaner at the Amata Clinic, Moore later became a nurse's aid after completing three levels of training.

Moore cites family as an important motivator in her work and career. She describes that “for us, the role of an artist is a respected position. It’s one that our children and grandchildren look up to and one they aspire to be. I’m making a path for my children.” The Tjala Arts Center community has had a profound effect on Moore's career, and she cites the vibrant social and communal atmosphere as foundational to her practice. and is known for her vibrant and expressive use of colours and designs, particularly bright orange, pink, yellow, and green. For Moore, these colors are reflective of the richness of her natural environment, used to represent the vibrant colors found in flowers and trees of her country. Paintings of Ngura often express the artist's personal stories and memories of Country.

Significant exhibitions

2003 Minymaku Arts – Exhibition of Fabrics, Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, USA 2007 Colours from our country, Harrison Galleries, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Awards and nominations 2012 Winner – General Painting Award, 29th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award 2013 Finalist, 30th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award 2019 Finalist, Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Residency In November 2019, Moore and the artist Sharon Adamson, accompanied by Annie McLoughlin, manager of Tjala Arts, completed a two-week residency at the Kluge-Ruhe museum. The two artists painted a mural, titled "Ngayulu Nguraku Ninti", across two walls in the museum. The mural conveys the connections Moore and Adamson have to their homeland, and features elements typical of Moore's works including the use of thickly applied paint, bright red and radiating circles. The exhibition and residency were sponsored by the Australia Council for the Arts.

Collections Moore has collections in the Art Gallery of South Australia, Artbank, Corrigan Collection, the National Gallery of Australia and in the W&V McGeough Collection.