APY Art Centre Collective

Josina Pumani

Australia

⁠Josina Pumani is a Pitjantjatjara woman, who was born in Mimili on the APY Lands in South Australia. Her mother, the late Ngupulya Pumani and her grandmother Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani were two of the founders of Mimili Maku Arts. Both women taught Josina much about cultural leadership, but also about the strong connection with their Country of Antara. Josina began painting in 2009 at Mimili Maku Arts and in 2023 she relocated to Adelaide and now works out of the Collective Art Centre. Josina began working with clay in 2024 and was awarded the Emerging Artists Prize at the 2024 NATSIAAs for her work Maralinga.
Josina's pots tell the Maralinga story. Maralinga was the site of British nuclear tests in the mid-1950s that covered an area of 3,300 square kilometres across the remote north of South Australia. The effects of Maralinga were severe and have had lasting impacts on the Anangu people whose lives, lands and livelihood were destroyed. “Maralinga hurt our lands and people and our