B. 1965

Sylvia Ken is from Amata community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands. She started painting at Tjala Arts (formerly Minymaku Arts) with her family in 1999, and began to exhibit in 2000.

Ken’s work frequently depicts the Seven Sisters Tjukurpa, or creation story – a narrative drawn from the Pleiades constellation and her ancestral connection to Country. The story has a special relevance for many First Nations women across the APY lands. As she says, “my right to paint this part of the Dreaming is established. Tjukurpa mulapa means a really important and true story.”

Sylvia Ken’s strikingly distinctive work has been widely exhibited worldwide. In 2019 she won the prestigious Wynne Prize for Australian landscape painting. Her work is in numerous public institutions including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the National Gallery of Victoria.