Yangyangkari Roma Butler

Roma Nyutjangka Butler from Irrunytju (Wingellina) is a weaver belonging to the Pitjantjatjara language and cultural group. She was born in 1959 at Wilo Rockhole, on the kanyala (euro kangaroo) Tjukurpa track. Roma spent her early years at Ernabella Mission in South Australia and then travelled by camel to Warburton in Western Australia where she went to school and learnt to read and write. Irrunytju is her great uncle’s country.

Roma is an award-winning Tjanpi sculptural artist with a particularly unique aesthetic. Her Tjanpi artworks are recognisable by their dynamism and character, quirky details, and inventive stitching. Roma’s artworks were included in the 56th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2015 as part of Kuka Irititja for the Fiona Hall exhibition Wrong Way Time in the Australia Pavilion. Roma and the Tjanpi artists in this exhibition made animals from the desert region that are endangered or extinct. Roma was also a finalist in the 2015 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, and was the winner of Best Sculptural Work in the 2018 Hedland Art Awards for her sculpture, Nyukali. In 2020 Roma was involved in the National Gallery of Australia’s commissioned work, Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters), a key work featured in the Know My Name : Australian Women Artists 1900 to Now exhibition celebrating women artists from across the country.

Roma is an incredible storyteller and an important senior law-woman; she was also one of the first female camerawomen on the lands and was instrumental in creating Ngaanyatjarra Media. She is a regular presenter on the radio with a program of local music and news. A woman of many talents, Roma has also been a prolific painter since the 1990s, as well as working for Minyma Kutjara Arts.
Roma is a wonderful storyteller and knowledge holder and loves to work with young women to maintain culture.