Athena Granites

“I learnt to paint by watching my mother, my sisters and my grandmother paint.”

Athena Nangala Granites was born in 1994 at Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. She has lived most of her life in Yuendumu, attending the local school and graduating from Senior Girls’ Upper School in 2009. Since leaving school, she has gained work experience working in the office at Mt Theo, a program that provides comprehensive training in youth development and leadership.

Athena is married to Sebastian Jupurrurla Wilson, and they have one son, “little Henry Peterson Wilson”. Athena enjoys being a mum to little Henry.

Although young, Athena comes from a long line of artists. She is the daughter of Geraldine Napangardi Granites and the granddaughter of Alma Nungarrayi Granites, well-known artists who paint with Warlukurlangu Artists. She is also the great-granddaughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (deceased), one of the founding artists of Warlukurlangu Artists.