Mary Moreen

Mary Moreen is an artist from the Jilamara Arts & Crafts Association, in the Tiwi Islands, Australia. Her artwork featured on these gifts is called 'Ningarti Mirrijini Kapiwarta'. Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association is a non-profit organization governed by the Tiwi community and founded in 1989. Located in the secluded aboriginal town of Milikapiti overlooking the Arafura Sea on Melville Island, it is one of two islands forming the Tiwi Islands. The artists at Jilamara are famous for creating modern artworks inspired by traditional body painting patterns, clan symbols, and Tiwi folklore. Using natural ochre colors, they produce paintings on various mediums such as linen, canvas, paper, printmaking, weaving, bark, and carved wood. Throughout thirty years, Jilamara artists have become widely respected Indigenous artists on both national and international levels. Supported by the art center, these artists have been instrumental in preserving and revitalizing Tiwi culture.