Leonie Bennett Australian, Ngaanjatjarra, b. 1978

Leonie Bennet is an artist belonging to the Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjatjara language and cultural groups, and lives in the remote community of Kaltukatjara (Docker River) in the Northern Territory. Leonie is a keen fibre artist who loves creating quirky sculptural representations of the animals she sees out bush, such as mingkirri (mouse), tinka (lizard) and tjilkamarta (echidna). Her weaving technique allows the underlying tjanpi (grass) in a sculpture to be glimpsed. Leonie works as an arts worker at the local art centre, Tjarlirli and Kaltukatjara Art. Hailing from a large family of renowned painters and having learned from her grandmother, she also paints important Tjukurpa (Dreaming) from around the Kaltukatjara area, including the Kungakarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) and Kunga Katjara Tjukurpa. Tjanpi Desert Weavers (Tjanpi meaning ‘wild grass’) is an award-winning, Indigenous governed and directed social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council (NPYWC). Tjanpi empowers over 400 women across a 350,000 square kilometre area of the tri-state region of NT, SA and WA to earn an income and remain in their communities on Country.