Ruth Nalmakarra

Ruth Nalmakarra (born 1954) is an Indigenous Australian artist known for her weaving, painting, and community leadership.

Biography Ruth Nalmakarra was born in 1954 at Galiwin'ku (Elcho Island) in Arnhem Land, Australia. She moved to Milingibi in the late 1960s. She is a member of the Garrawurra Liyagauwumirr clan.

Career Throughout her career as an artist, Ruth Nalmakarra has been a weaver, painter, and curator. She has been weaving since she was a little girl, and was later taught painting by her family.

Nalmakarra's late-brother Mickey Durrng, and his brother, Tony Dhanyala were the only people authorized to paint the Dijirri-didi: the Liyagauwumirr's clan design that is painted on the body during the Ngarra cleansing ceremony, in which the Liyagauwumirr paint their bodies and ceremonial objects. The Ngarra ceremony is not only a mortuary ritual, but also a celebration of regeneration in which the people remember the travels of the Dja'nkawu Sisters.

Nalmakarra held a position as assistant manager at the Milingimbi Art and Culture Centre from 2005 to 2009, in addition to being an artist and member of the board. Currently, she is a special advisor to the board of directors at Arnhem, Northern and Kimberley Artists (ANKA), the peak advocacy and support body for Aboriginal artists and Art Centres across Northern Australia. Nalmakarra has been involved with ANKA since 2007.

Style, works, and impact Nalamkara’s style was passed down from her brother, Mickey Durrng, he used a lot of body art painting in his work. Ruth took the style and flourished. Ruth Nalamkarra’s work was all about connecting the past and the present through art and it is seen in her artwork and her actions to further the communities around her. Ruth’s rotatable style of weaving which she picked up as a young girl and through the family traditions also learned to paint as well. Nalmakara would learn to paint from the scared Ŋarra ceremony where the clan did body clan designs. Ruth tends to use a weaving style with different geometric patterns and shapes influenced by the beautiful clan designs. Nalmakarra's weaving incorporates different geometric patterns and shapes influenced by clan designs used in the sacred Ŋarra ceremony. Nalmakara puts in the effort to acknowledge her elders and show why she respects their stories and why others should respect and learn about the many teachings that come from the deep meaning behind the stories.

Ruth is also involved in modern projects like the MEG’s (Musée d'ethnographie de Genève) Plan to “reconnect collections and source communities.” Their mission is to show through the educational lens, they teach the community through hands-on workshops and exhibits. She participates in teaching the community about traditional weaving techniques through hands-on workshops and exhibits to pass knowledge on to younger generations.

Nalmakarra has worked with researchers to help link objects and photographs from the 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land with the people and stories behind them. In 2008, she identified baskets collected on the Expedition according to their moiety divisions of Dhuwa and Yirritja based on the designs. 2005: Twined Together: Kunmadj Njalehnjaleken, Injalak Arts and Crafts, Gunbalanya, Australia. 2017: Ochre. NOMAD Art Gallery, Darwin, Australia. 2020: long water. Museum of Modern Art Australia (MOMAA), Melbourne, Australia.