Kay Baker b. c.1950

Kay Baker was born in the early 1950s near Ernabella Mission in the APY Lands of South Australia. Her father was the famous Pitjantjatjara artist, Jimmy Baker, whose nickname came from his early career was as a “baker” of bread, and later became a stockman, tending to sheep.

In the early 2000s, Kay was the major instigator in the establishment of the Tjunku Palya Arts Centre at Fregon. Kay went to the Lutheran Yirara College in Alice Springs before moving back to Fregon in SA, where she worked at the Fregon Art Centre and learned arts and craft practices, primarily batik, from her grandmother. Kay was also integral to the establishment of the small community of Kanpi in the APY Lands.

Kay is the mother of widely exhibited artists Teresa and Kani (Patricia) Baker, and grandmother to emerging artist Clarise Tunkin. Kay now spends her time between her community in South Australia and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. Kay is a confident and creative artist, painting the stories of Malilu (a significant ancestral woman from Kanpi) and the Emu (Kalaya) Dreaming.