Tanya Bird b. 1981

Tanya Bird is a talented artist from Utopia, an expansive Indigenous homelands region some 240km north-east of Mparntwe. Utopia comprises of several remote communities, and is a region of great cultural and artistic significance. Tanya comes from a dynasty of artists, and was taught Dreaming stories by her grandparents - notably her grandmother, renowned artist Ada Bird - and her parents, Eileen and Paddy Bird. 

Tanya grew up watching her family members paint and now continues the tradition of putting down cultural stories onto canvas. Tanya paints Bush Medicine and Bush Plum designs, and other women’s ceremonial designs such as Alweye, women's ceremony - particularly women's body paint designs. More recently, Tanya has started painting the bush medicine leaf in the style of the famous Gloria Petyarre, Tanya’s auntie. This style is distinguished by its broad, gestural brush strokes. Tanya has a fantastic eye for colour, often working in bold colour palettes