Eric Braedon Mbitjana b. 1959

Eric Braedon Mbitjana is a self-taught painter and a traditional owner of the Etikaura (Chambers Pillar) and Wurre (Rainbow Valley) areas, southeast of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). He successfully campaigned to have his country given back to him and his people. Eric’s strongest priority is the custodianship of his ancestral land and he has a deep commitment to passing on his knowledge to the next generation through art and storytelling.

Eric began painting in the mid-1980s, and the main theme of his paintings is how the men used to traditionally hunt for bush tucker like lizards, perentie and kangaroo, as well as Bush Flowers. Eric also paints the Dingo Dreaming and Caterpillar Dreaming; songlines that cross through Mparntwe and the surrounding country, often depicting Ngaripe (Heavitree Gap) in Mparntwe, now through which the Stuart Highway and the Adelaide-Darwin railway line pass through. This is a deeply sacred place for Arrernte people. 

Due to his breadth of cultural knowledge, Eric sometimes acts as an advisor to the local museum on local cultural knowledge, determines what artefacts can be exhibited, those that can be kept but not exhibited, or those that need to be returned.

Eric successfully campaigned to have his country given back to him and his people. Eric has a passion for caring for his ancestor's land and passing his story lines to the next generation through art and story-telling. of his wealth of cultural knowledge, Eric advises the local museum on local cultural knowledge determines which artefacts can be exhibited, those that can be kept but not exhibited, or those that need to be returned.