Kenny Williams Tjampitjinpa b. c.1950

Also known as Kenny Williams
  • Artist (Painter)
Pintupi artist who had lived in several Western Desert communities before settling at Redbank,an outstation of Kintore, with Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, who assisted him to take up painting in the late 1980s.

Born near present day Kiwirrkura after World War II, Kenny spent his boyhood travelling the desert with his family until Jeremy Long’s Welfare Branch patrols brought them in to Papunya in the late ’60s. From there Kenny moved to Balgo in WA, joining other tribesmen who had migrated north to the edges of Pintupi territory. He remained at Balgo during the ’70s, moving back to Papunya and later to Kintore when the settlement was established at the start of the ’80s. He lived with Ronnie Tjampitjinpa at Redbank (Ininti) outstation west of Kintore and with his assistance began painting his Dreamings around Kiwirrkura for Papunya Tula Artists in 1988.

Writers:
Johnson, Vivien Note: Primary biographer.
Date written:
1994
Last updated:
2011