Betty Chimney was born in 1957 and is one of Iwantja Arts most promising rising star
artists. She says:
“I was born in Port Augusta, but I came to live at Iwantja with Alec Bakers family when I was little. There were some missionaries staying near the ridge then, and we lived in a wiltja (handmade shelter) by the creek – but that was a long time ago, I have a house now with a little garden and some chickens. I like working at the art centre and paint pictures of country, with the rock holes and the mountains that I know.”
Betty Chimney is a long-time artist and director of Iwantja Arts. A dedicated painter, Betty’s work is inspired by her ancestral Yankunytjatjara country and a determination to maintain her strong connection to country and culture.
In addition to her own painting practice, Betty works on large-scale collaborative paintings with her daughter Raylene Walatinna. Through the process of working together with her daughter on collaborative paintings, Betty continues the tradition of older women passing on their important knowledge of Tjukurpa (Anangu cultural stories) and Ngura (Country) to younger women.