Margaret Gallagher

Margaret Nangala Gallagher was born in 1967 at Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community located 290 km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. She is the daughter of Pauline Napangardi Gallagher.

Margaret attended the local school in Yuendumu before moving with her family to Nyirripi, an Aboriginal community situated 160 km west of Yuendumu, where she still resides today. She has one sister and three brothers.

Margaret has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation since 2007. She learnt to paint by watching her mother and other community artists at work. She particularly enjoys painting alongside her mother, as it provides an opportunity for them to share their Jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories, which have been passed down through countless generations by their ancestors.

Margaret paints her Yankirri Jukurrpa (Emu Dreaming), inherited from her father’s side. This Jukurrpa belongs to Jangala/Jampijinpa men and Nangala/Nampijinpa women.

When she is not painting, Margaret studies at Batchelor College in Alice Springs and works at the Women’s Centre in Nyirripi.