Kate Miwulku

Kate Miwulku (1939–2011) was a Kunibídji artist born at Manayingkarírra (Maningrida) in west Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, where she lived and worked throughout her life. A speaker of Ndjébbana and several other Aboriginal languages, Miwulku was a traditional owner of the land on which Maningrida is built and was renowned for her encyclopaedic knowledge of country, flora and fauna. She collaborated with linguists and taught language and cultural knowledge at Maningrida School.

Miwulku worked across linocut, etching, bark painting, fibre and sculpture. Her art consistently explored cultural practices surrounding food, with dilly bags and fish traps recurring as powerful motifs. While pandanus fibre work is common in Arnhem Land, Miwulku’s practice was distinctive, exemplified by her unusually bold string bags made from red kurrajong bark.

She began printmaking in 1996 through workshops at Maningrida Arts & Culture, embracing linocut, screenprinting, etching and drypoint. Printmaking offered women artists new freedom of colour and design, allowing Miwulku to translate deep ecological knowledge into vivid, minimalist compositions. Her extensive print oeuvre comprises around 100 editions, including the iconic Fishtraps (2002), a spare yet confident expression of cultural essence.

Miwulku exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, and her works are held in major public collections. She described her art as giving “an emotional physical presence to my culture".