Nora Nungabar (Nyangapa) (c.1919-2016) was a Manyjilyjarra woman born near Lipuru well. She grew up in the Country that became Wells 33 to 38 along the Canning Stock Route. From an early age Nora and her family had encounters with the white men who drove cattle along the route. As a young woman, together with her close friend Nora Wompi (dec.), Nora followed the drovers north to Balgo Mission, where she settled and raised a family.
Nora eventually relocated to her homelands at Kunawarritji, though she continued to travel regularly between Kunawarritji, Balgo and Mulan. Through her artistic career, painting with both Warlayirti Artists and Martumili Artists, Nora earned critical acclaim for her remarkably expressive, evocative style. Many younger artists describe having learnt to paint by watching her example. Nora was a custodian of a great deal of cultural knowledge about the Kunawarritji area, much of which is referred to in her extensive body of work. Nora’s paintings have been exhibited in galleries internationally and throughout Australia, and acquired by the National Museum of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Photograph by Tobias Titz.