Audrey Napanangka

AUDREY NAPANANGKA MARTIN – STORYTELLER

Audrey Napanangka Martin is a well-respected senior First Nations Warlpiri woman, an artist, and actor from Yuendumu Community, Central Australia.

She met Director Penelope McDonald in 1983 in the community of Lajamanu, Northern Territory. Audrey was working with the Council, operating the remote telephone services, and fostering a small girl. Penelope McDonald was a teacher and aspiring filmmaker. They struck up a friendship based on mutual respect, sharing and love of drama.

Audrey and Penelope worked together on a few short local productions. Audrey then acted in one of the early short dramas Penelope produced My Bed Your Bed (1997). This led to many small roles in acclaimed productions such as in Kings in Grass Castles (1998), Rabbit Proof Fence (2002), Monsters We Met (2003), Green Bush (2004), Sampson & Delilah (2009), Doors (2010), Nulla Nulla (2016), and Robbie Hood (2019).

Audrey has a strong visual arts career in painting since the mid 1980s having mentored by Netta Williams Napanangka (a well-known Warlpiri artist). For Audrey arts is a cultural practise, and she has been surrounded by painters since she was a small child. Both her parents were artists. Audrey often paints bush tucker (food) dreaming, water dreaming and ceremonial body painting images. Some of Audrey's artworks and designs have been transferred onto fabrics.

Audrey uses her skill and the deep spiritual meanings behind Aboriginal art as well as understanding of the modern art world to nurture the next generation of Aboriginal artists including Miriam and Leanorah Williams.
Audrey's mentoring and fostering of children while having an amazing professional artistic career inspired Penelope McDonald to want to document Audrey's unique life.

After 10 years of filming Audrey Napanangka had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2022.