Francine Kulitja

Francine Kulitja Paintings

Quick Facts

  • Full Name: Francine Kulitja Born: 8 April 1980

  • Place of Birth / Origin: Kaltukatjara (Docker River), Northern Territory, Australia

  • Current Community: Mutitjulu, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory

  • Language Group / People: Pitjantjatjara

  • Mother: Rene Kulitja, senior artist and Maruku Director

  • Grandparents: The late Topsy Tjulyata and Walter Pukutiwara, renowned wood carvers and founders of Maruku

  • Art Centre: Maruku Arts (artsworker since 2019)

  • Main Themes: Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters), Minyma Kutjara (The Two Women), Minyma Kaanka Tjuta (The Crow Women), Kapi Pukara (Pukara Waterhole), Kalaya Tjuta (The Emus), Ngankari Tjuta

  • Primary Medium: Acrylic on canvas, acrylic on wood, tjanpi grass

Francine Kulitja is a Pitjantjatjara artist and the eldest daughter of the well-known artist Rene Kulitja, continuing a family legacy that dates back to the founding of Maruku Arts. Through her paintings of the Tjukurpa, or Creation Stories, Francine carries forward knowledge passed to her across three generations, from her grandmother and grandfather to her mother and now to her own hands.

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Early Life and Family

Francine was born on 8 April 1980 and grew up in Kaltukatjara (Docker River), a community in the far south west corner of the Northern Territory. She also spends time in the Mutitjulu Community within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, where her family has long played an active role in traditional land management, tourism and the arts.

Her mother, Rene Kulitja, is a widely recognised artist and Director of Maruku. Francine's grandparents, the late Topsy Tjulyata and Walter Pukutiwara, were renowned wood carvers and among the founders of Maruku Arts, the Aboriginal-owned social enterprise based at Uluru that has represented Anangu artists for more than 30 years. Growing up within this family, Francine was immersed from childhood in both the practical craft and the deeper cultural knowledge that underpins it.

Artistic Journey

Francine paints the Tjukurpa, the law and stories of the Ancestors, inherited through her mother, grandmother, and grandfather. In 2019, she formally joined Maruku as an arts worker, translating a lifetime of inherited knowledge into a developing painting practice, supported by the art centre's community of around 900 Anangu artists.

Her work reflects the layered protocols that govern Tjukurpa: Anangu carry responsibility for the protection and teaching of different stories, and strict protocols exist around how such knowledge may be shared. The dotting technique used across her paintings has evolved specifically to allow sacred aspects of Tjukurpa to be expressed appropriately for public viewing, while still depicting the desert landscape and its ancestral narratives.

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Themes and Stories

Francine's paintings draw on a number of interconnected Tjukurpa, most prominently Kungkarangkalpa, the story of the Seven Sisters pursued across the desert by the cunning ancestral figure Nyiru, who repeatedly disguises himself to lure them into marriage. She also paints Minyma Kutjara, the story of two sisters travelling together back to their homeland, in which an older sister carries and comforts her younger, more hesitant sibling, teaching her the Country as they travel and pausing along the way to perform sacred song and dance before finally reaching Kaltukatjara.

Other recurring themes in her work include Minyma Kaanka Tjuta (The Crow Women), Kapi Pukara (Pukara Waterhole), Kalaya Tjuta (The Emus) and Ngankari Tjuta, each carrying its own Creation narrative connected to her family's Country.

Artistic Legacy

As the eldest daughter of Rene Kulitja and granddaughter of two of Maruku's founding figures, Francine occupies a distinctive place within one of Central Australia's most significant art families. Her paintings have been exhibited and offered through galleries including Artsite Contemporary, Art Mark Gallery and Bluethumb, and her work continues to build on a family tradition of translating sacred Tjukurpa into paintings that can be shared and understood by a wider audience, while honouring the protocols that protect their deeper meaning.

Discover Authentic Aboriginal Art

If you are interested in collecting authentic works by Francine Kulitja or other respected Anangu artists, Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery offers a carefully curated selection sourced from reputable Aboriginal-owned art centres and trusted galleries.

Whether you are beginning your collection or adding to an established one, Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery provides genuine Indigenous artworks that honour Australia's rich cultural heritage while supporting Aboriginal artists and their communities.

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