Narelle Holland Australian, b. 1953

Narelle Holland is a long standing NPY Women's Council member and has been a director inpast years representing the communities in the Ngaanyatjarra lands of WA. She is a generousand gentle woman who is an important cultural leader in her community. Narrelle lives inBlackstone Community in WA with her family. She is a strong weaver and sculpture whosecreations always have a lot of colour and texture incorporated into their design.Tjanpi (meaning ‘dry grass’) evolved from a series of basket weaving workshops held onremote communities in the Western Desert by the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara YankunyjatjaraWomen’s Council in 1995. Building on traditions of using fibre for medicinal, ceremonial anddaily purposes, women took easily to making coiled baskets. These new-found skills wereshared with relations on neighbouring communities and weaving quickly spread. Today over400 women across 28 communities are making baskets and sculptures out of grass andworking with fibre in this way is firmly embedded in Western and Central desert culture. Whileout collecting desert grasses for their fibre art, women visit sacred sites and traditionalhomelands, hunt and gather food for their families and teach their children about count