Mumu Mike Williams
Born: 1952 Pukatja (Ernabella) SA
Language: Pitjantjatjara
Art Centre: Mimili Maku, Mimili SA
Mumu Mike Williams was born in 1952 between Kenmore Park and Pukatja. Williams learnt to read and write in Pitjantjatjara and English at the Ernabella Mission School, before working as a stockman on cattle stations. Williams went onto pursue bible studies, and became a pastor. His work with the church took him around the world in 1970, visiting Israel, England, India, Europe and America. After returning to the APY lands Williams worked as a carpenter building houses in Ernabella.
Mumu Mike Williams is an integral member and a long-standing director of Mimili Maku Arts. Williams was instrumental in the incorporation of Mimili Maku Arts in 2010 as an independent Aboriginal-owned and governed organisation. Williams is a highly regarded artist with his paintings and works on paper acquired by institutions across Australia. Williams has become known for his use of text in his artworks in his first language, Pitjantjatjara and his staunch advocacy for Aboriginal rights. Williams is fervently engaged in APY Lands issues concerning governance, sustainable land management, the protection of sacred heritage sites and the rights of traditional owners. As a proud advocate of APY Art Centres as strong and essential Anangu owned and governed businesses, Mumu Mike Williams has been an important figure in the establishment of the APY Art Centre Collective.
“Nyangangka Mimili Maku Art-pangka nganana wakaripa tjungu. Tjilpi pampangka tjungu munu itingka wakarinyi walytjapitingka. Nyanga paluru Ananguku mulapa.”
‘At Mimili Maku Arts we work together. The old men and women work side by side with their families, their children and grandchildren. This is Anangu way.’
