Barbara Weir


Born:			1945
Region:			Central Desert 
Community:		Utopia 
Outstation:		Atnwengerrp 
Language:		Anmatyerre, Alyawarr 
Social Affiliation:	Pwerle Subsection
Subjects:			Grass seed, bush berry, Awelye.


Collections:
Hitachi, Amp, Macquarie Bank. 
Artbank 
Art Gallery of Queensland, Brisbane. 
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. 
Macquarie Bank. 
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. 
Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane.
Holmes a Court Collection, 


Individual Exhibitions:	
2000 - Gathering the Past, Redback Art Gallery, Brisbane; Gallery Savah, Sydney. 
1999 - Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne; Dream Works, Gallery Savah, Sydney. 
1997 - DACOU Gallery, Adelaide; Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney. 
1996 - Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane. 
	 - Chapman Gallery, Canberra. 

Group Exhibitions:
1995, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2009 Dacou Gallery, Adelaide
1995, Davis Avenue Gallery, Melbourne
1996, 2002, Framed Gallery, Darwin
1996, Gallery Woo Mang and Partners, Paris, France
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 , 2008 Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, Quadrivium Gallery, Sydney
1996, 1997, 1998, 2008 Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
1997, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
1997, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
1997, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
1997, Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney
1998, ARTEXPO, New York, USA
1998, 2001, Chapman Gallery, Canberra
1998, Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide
1998, Exhibited extensively in Europe including: Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands
1999, 2002, Japingka Gallery, Perth
1999, 2000, 2001, Tandanya, Adelaide
1999, 2000, 2002, 2006 Gallery Savah, Sydney
2000, ArtSauce, Singapore
2000, Redback Art Gallery, Brisbane
2000, AMP Building, Sydney
2000, "Women's Business", Chicago, USA
2001, Mbantua Gallery, Alice Springs
2002, Knut Grothe Galeri, Charlottlenlund, Copenhagen, Denmark
2003, Alison Kelly Gallery, Melbourne
2003, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne
2004, Addison Road Gallery, Marrickville, NSW.
2004, Mbantua Gallery (USA exhibition: Portland, Nashville, Knoxville, Hartford, Greenwich, 
	Philadelphia and New York).
2006, APS Bendi Lango Art Exhibition, Rio Tinto Offices, Melbourne. 
2007, Australian Embassy, Washington, USA.
2007, "New Works from Utopia", Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, USA
2008, Gecko Gallery, Broome.
2008, "Walking Together to Aid Aboriginal Health", Shalom Gamarada Aboriginal Art Exhibition, 
	University of NSW, Kensington, NSW.
2008, "Utopia Revisited", NG Art Gallery, Chippendale, NSW.
2008, "Dreamings - The Land", Outback Aboriginal Land, Caulfield, VIC.
2008, Red Rock Gallery, Beijing, China.
2009, Janet Holmes a Court Gallery, Perth.
2009, "Utopia, Colours of the Desert", Gongpyeong Art Space in collaboration with Dacou, 
	Australian Embassy in Korea and Crossbay Gallery, Seoul, Korea.
2010, "In the Footprints of Barbara Weir", Central Art, Alice Springs
2012, "Barbara Weir", Kate Owen Gallery, NSW


Select Bibliography:
Contemporary Aboriginal Art by Susan McCulloch, 1999.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye: Alhalkere, Paintings from Utopia, ed. Margo Neale, 1998

Emily Kngwarreye Paintings, D. Holt, T. Smith, and National Gallery of Victoria, 1998

The Art of Utopia: A New Direction in Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Michael Boulter, 1991 



© Discovery Media, Documentation Pty Ltd, and the Australian 
Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies



Notes:
Barbara Weir was born in 1945 at what was formerly known as Bundy River Station. Her 
country is Atnwengerrp and her language is Anmatyerre and Alyawarr. Barbara's mother 
(Minnie Pwerle) is Aboriginal and her father is Irish, and as she was of a mixed heritage, 
she was taken away from her family at the age of nine. This was a common event for 
half caste children at that time, and these people are now known as the stolen generation.

Barbara was fostered out to various families, first in Alice Springs, then in Victoria, 
and Darwin. During these years she lost contact with her family but was determined to 
return and re-claim her heritage. 

In the late 1960s Barbara and her six children returned to Utopia. There she was re-united 
with Emily Kame Kngwarreye, who had looked after her as a child. The reunion was a happy 
one although Barbara was unable to communicate with the family, as she did not know the 
language. Eventually, Barbara mastered both the Anmatyerre and Alyawarr languages. 

On returning to her home and her unique relationship with Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Barbara 
became interested in painting. In 1994, Barbara and other Aboriginal women travelled to 
Indonesia to learn more about the art of batik. She returned from Indonesia full of ideas 
for developing her own style. Her main dreamings are Bush Berry Dreaming, Grass Seed and 
Wild Flower.