Judy Armstrong

Judy was born in Kaltjiti / Fregon and raised on the lands surrounding the Pukatja / Ernabella community on the APY Lands. She calls Pukatja /Ernabella her home but now is based in Adelaide. She regularly travels back to her community to stay in touch with family and friends there.

Growing up, Judy spent her afternoons at the Ernabella Art Centre, where batik had been introduced as a new art form. Women were taught the technique and began using it as a new way to convey their ancestral stories. During this time, Judy also developed skills in painting, woodcarving, and the burning of detailed patterns onto wooden implements.

She later moved to Adelaide to complete her secondary education before returning to her community, where she worked in the Ernabella store and resource centre. It was during this period that she began painting more regularly alongside other artists at the Art Centre, using art to share ancestral stories, culture and kinship.

Judy paints the Piltati Story passed down from her grandmother.