Tanya van Horen

Tanya Van Horen is an emerging artist from the Umoona Community in the north of South Australia in a region known as the APY Lands. Her home is Kupa Piti (Coober Pedy), and she is a proud Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara woman.

Tanya's family connection to Kupa Piti can be traced back through eight generations. Tanya is a proud mother of four, and grandmother of four precious granddaughters. She has only recently taken to painting to share her love for her Country.

Tanya's paintings tell the story of her Country and her love for her homelands. Her paintings reminisce of her childhood spent growing up there, going out bush camping, hunting kangaroo and digging for witchery grubs and honey ants with her family. Vivid memories of the older ladies gathering around, watching the young ones dance and sing at night around the fire.

Her artworks can reference the Opals in the Kupa Piti region, The Breakaways with their spectacular coloured hills, or about connections to Elders, to each other, to the land.

"The colours they speak, they talk to you. On Country, colour show you where water is, food is, where life is."

Tanya's vibrant use of colour and energetic mark making give her paintings an incredible power, presence, and sense of joy. They breathe life into any space and are a great testament to the vibrant spirit of Indigenous Australian art and culture.

Outside of her artistic passion, Tanya works at the Coober Pedy Hospital as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer and as a tour guide at the underground museum and for the Ghan twice a week.

She is also on the board of the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal Corporation (AMYAC) - advocating for Native Title rights and Aboriginal employment and training in her community. Tanya is also a very passionate and active member of her local church.