Nancy Yukuwal McDinny

Artist’s Statement
My name is Nancy Yukuwal McDinny and I was born in 1958 among the mangroves near Milrila on Fetrel Island, between Manangoora Station and Vanderlin Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

My skin name is Nangalama and I am a member of the Mambaliya clan – Wawukarriya.

My dreaming is Kurlyukurlyu / Kurdarrku; Brolga, and my country is Wubunjawa near Marrinybul. I am Garrwa from my father’s side and Yanyuwa from my mother’s side.

My paintings convey the stories and songs I have been taught from my father Dinny Nyilba Balyerinji McDinny and the elders. Our country holds a story, encompassing our land, laws, ceremonies and future. We share this country with you to reveal our true origins, history and to protect it.

“All the stories I have painted are about my life and family. Now I paint about the country because it is so important, it is in my heart. We teach our children that the songs will endure and take them to the country to hear stories about their grandfathers and grandmothers who lived, walked, hunted and spoke our language. We want to continue living on the land and be strong on our own country.”
“We carry the history in a songline, a painting like a map. The songs of the old people Kutjika teaches us, passing on the responsibility of travelling on country. Songs keep language and land strong. We connect through family and places from Queensland – Palm Island, Doomadgee, Yarrabah to the Gulf of Carpentaria, Manankurra, Borroloola, Robinson River, Sandridge Station and Wandangula; and then to the Western Australia to Derby and Broome. Every station.”

Nancy McDinny’s paintings provide a statement about her world, her land and the critical importance of engaging with the environment on a cultural level as it restores us as human beings for the future. Her landscapes over the last twenty years have not wavered from her purpose, and the outside eye is slowly catching up to her provocative and important message. While her works are exquisite and beautiful paintings, they are statements of country and land and identity.

An artistic treasure and custodian of country, Nancy McDinny is dedicated to bringing the crucial attention to the splendour and fragility of their home. She captures and connects the viewer to the remote, mostly unseen landscape with a determination to protect the ancestral lands and sing the Kutjika to bring the stories of sacred places to life. As a cultural warrior, she wants to protect their home and challenge the notion of terra nullius.

More than a century ago, indigenous communities suffered brutal violence in pursuit of pastoral lands and today they live with the shadow of that history. They find themselves again under threat through the damage of mining to their environment and the legacy of poor health from introduced western culture. As an artist, Nancy McDinny’s mood changes as she paints. Her face is serious and contemplative, then the grandmother may shift to an otherworldly softness as she begins to sing in the language of her people. It is meditative and spiritual and leaves one peacefully spellbound.

(Excerpt from an essay by Suellen Hinde for the exhibition Seven Rivers 2020.)

Wearyan River region, Wadawadala (grandmother’s country), Foelsche and Manangura River systems; Manankurra on the west bank of the Wearyan River

The work maps a living landscape across multiple country boundaries, reflecting Nancy’s connection to Wadawadala, the Wearyan River, and associated river systems.
It weaves together memory, place, and history: the story of Tommy Mayawagu, a Garrawa man who challenged violence and whose courage is remembered across borders.
The painting grounds cultural knowledge in everyday life—fishing sites, freshwater and saltwater interfaces, and the practices of hunting, camping, and bush tucker learned from elders.

Wearyan River and its features: a central landscape with Calvert, a waterfall, and a main camp where station managers once permitted camping.
River crossings and travel: bark boats built for crossing; memories of crossing with newborn Stewart; turtle eggs dug along sandy banks; fishing along the river.
The hill country and conflicts: Wearyan Hill and the nearby China Wall, with references to historical encounters with military police.
Foelsche and Manangura: links to ceremonies and memory tied to the region and its people.
Sacred and Community Memory

Manankurra: a significant inland site for the Yanyuwa, Mara, and Garrwa peoples; the cycad palm forest and shark dreaming are described as sacred, with Ma-Wirla meaning “much food to share.”
Dancing for film: ancestral presence in the making of the film Two Laws (Kurrululinya), linking country to cultural memory and storytelling.

The text foregrounds education through immersion in country—learning to walk the land, hunt, camp, and rely on bush skills as essential schooling passed from grandmother to grandchild.
The landscape functions as a living archive of people, stories, and sustenance, underscoring ongoing stewardship of country.

Nancy’s work embodies a living relationship to land and memory, naming places, rivers, and journeys while honoring elders, sacred sites, and the sustenance of community life. It honors resilience, memory, and the continuing practice of caring for country.

Indigenous Australian art; Yanyuwa; Mara; Garrwa; Wadawadala; Wearyan River; Foelsche; Manangura; Manankurra; cycad palm forest; shark dreaming; Ma-Wirla; Two Laws; colonial history; bush tucker; hunting; camping; bark raft.
Biography
Influences
October 2025
AWMA Australia women in music awards Yarning strong
Juju minjimunjina Jangkurr words from deep in the bush first nations womens journeys

We’re flying off to Magandjin/Brisbane for this year’s Australian Women in Music Awards! We’ll be joined by the Songwomen from the remote Northern Territory Borroloola community, Arrkula Yinbayarra, to accompany a powerful conversation centring First Nations women in music, storytelling and cultural leadership.

From the high costs of travel and juggling work and family, to cultural responsibilities and the joy of singing in language, this panel reveals the resilience behind their vision to keep culture strong.

“It is fitting Arrkula Yinbayarra (Together We Sing) performs at an event celebrating the diversity and strength of women in the music industry. We sing in the four languages from our country, we sing for and about the challenges, responsibilities and honours that hold in our lives. We represent overcoming, rising, pride and ongoing service to culture.” – Dr. Shellie Morris AO (Yanyuwa/Wardaman)

Facilitated by Dr. Shellie Morris AO

Panellists
Deandra McDinny
Rachel McDinny
Annie Taylor
Marlene Timothy

SongRitesArrkula Yinbayarra (Together We Sing)
5 – 6 September 2025
A joyful and unique celebration of culture and song
Join us for a night of language, culture and song with Arrkula Yinbayarra (Together We Sing). A celebration of resilience through music, it's performed by the Songwomen from the remote Northern Territory Borroloola community with Dr Shellie Morris AO. These nine performers, along with a live band, will showcase original songs as the reawaken the Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Gudanji and Marra languages. It's a rare chance to experience this ensemble in the heart of Sydney.
Crafted in close collaboration with language custodians and the Borroloola Songwomen, their album is more than music. It's a living archive of culture, language and identity. From Woodford Folk Festival to Port Fairy Folk Festival to Darwin Festival,  Arrkula Yinbayarra has captivated festival audiences with its emotional depth and cross-generational storytelling.
This special musical project is born from the vision of Yanyuwa/Garrwa woman Marlene Timothy. It's brought to life by Dr Shellie Morris AO, esteemed writer, singer and Yanyuwa and Wardaman woman. Be taken on a journey through song as the women perform moving tracks from their album Waralungku, which are tied deeply to the Gulf of Carpentaria and its people. Each song is a tribute to the strength of the women and the enduring spirit of the region.
Arrkula Yinbayarra is a celebration of resilience, creativity and cultural ownership. Through rich harmonies and timeless melodies, it ensures that the region’s languages and stories of Country not only survive but thrive. 
Don’t miss your chance to experience the joy of this remarkable ensemble.
The Sydney Opera House thanks Event Sponsor Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and Idealist donors R O Albert Family and Dr Russell & Jane Kift for their generous support of SongRites.
A very special thank you to Yuwaalaraay Wirringgaa artist Lucy Simpson for the creation of our DanceRites artwork.
Presented by Sydney Opera House
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibtions
2025 Mambaliya Yarji - Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2022 Jurla Yarri Yarri – Wubunjawa, Gulf Country – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2005 Nancy McDinny – Raft Art Space, Darwin NT Australia
2006 Making Contact New works from Nancy McDinny Mossesen Gallery Melbourne VIC

Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 Biennale Of Sydney White Bay Power Station NSW Australia
2026 Raa-Mardu 2026. Dry Season Collection Karen Brown Fine Art , Darwin NT Australia
2024 Looking Into 2025 – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2024 Manankurra, Strong Country – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2024 We Are Still Here – CIAF, Cairns, QLD Australia
2023 Ngurraungi Yarji, Our Family’s Country – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2023 Connections – Graham Geddes Gallery, Melbourne VIC Australia
2022 Munjimunjingu Kurrburr, All the Bush Fruit & Medicine – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2021 Manankurra and Mardarinni, Travelling this Country – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2020 Seven Rivers – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia
2016 Gulf Country, New screen prints from Waralungku Arts – Nomad Art, Darwin NT Australia
2016 Flow of Voices 3 – The Cross Arts Project, Sydney NSW Australia
2014 Flow of Voices II – The Cross Arts Project, Sydney NSW Australia
2011 Borroloola Prints and Paintings from the Gulf of Carpentaria – Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, London UK
2006 Making Contact and Wild Times – Mosseson Galleries, Melbourne VIC Australia
2002 Coastal Country to Stone Hills – Karen Brown Fine Art, Darwin NT Australia

Selected Collections
Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emerates.
Australia National University Collection, Canberra ACT Australia
Australian Maritime Museum, Sydney NSW Australia
Australian Museum, Canberra ACT Australia
Batchelor College Collection, Batchelor NT Australia
British Museum, London UK
NLC Native Title Collection, NT Australia

Artist Residencies / Performance
SongRites Arrkula Yinbayarra (Together We Sing) 5 – 6 September 2025
Saint Ignatius College, Sydney NSW Australia
Australia National University Collection, Canberra ACT Australia
Katherine Regional Arts and Magpie goose designs 2020
Colin Holt printmaking Borroloola 2020m

Documentaries
2017 Journey West
1997 Lidjakarda Cultural Festival
1995 Lidjakarda Cultural Festival
1988 Journey East
1982 Two Laws

Awards
2013 Finalist – Toga Art Award, Darwin NT Australia
2009 Finalist – Toga Art Award, Darwin NT Australia
2008 Finalist – Toga Art Award, Darwin NT Australia
2006 Finalist – Toga Art Award, Darwin NT Australia
2005 CWA Art Award – Tennant Creek NT Australia
2001 First Prize Painting Award. Wurralawala Festival Borroloola.

Donations
2018 Independent Gulf Artists donating to Environmental Defenders Office

Publications
2020 Seven Rivers, Catalogue Publication Suellen Hinde
2018 Stanford University Press, Feral Atlas: The More-Than-Human Anthropocene
2013 Art Monthly Australia, Challenging Conspiracies of Silence with Art, Sean Kerins