VIDEO: Aboriginal artists of Coober Pedy

By AG staff 29 November 2013
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Coober Pedy is famous for its opals, but there’s a whole other side. AG talks to some local artists.

THE STRENGTH OF diversity of Coober Pedy is reflected within many Aboriginal families. Local artist Katrina Williams is one of five sisters, all of whom live in Coober Pedy and carry on a family tradition.

“My grandmother was from here but grandfather’s people came from Utopia in the Territory. All his family paint and so do we,” says Katrina, as she gazes across a bright bushtucker painting that’s big enough to cover her dining table. “It’s what we do when we get together. I was crap at first but it didn’t take long. It was like I had it in me.”

The art success of the Williams sisters is another marker of the opportunities this far-flung town continues to offer.