A Night with Emily Kam Kngwarray: FANZA Celebrates Groundbreaking Exhibition at Pace Gallery

FANZA was honoured to co-host a special evening this week at Pace Gallery, London, celebrating the extraordinary work of one of Australia’s most critically acclaimed contemporary artists: Emily Kam Kngwarray (c.1914–1996).

Guests, including the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, The Hon Stephen Smith, joined FANZA co-chair Mary Fenwick and FANZA trustee David Nelligan for a private tour of My Country, the major new exhibition curated by Elliot McDonald in collaboration with D’Lan Contemporary. McDonald offered powerful insights into Kngwarray’s journey from early organic forms through to the striking minimalism that characterised her mature work. (Pictured above L-R: Mary Fenwick, Elliot McDonald, The Hon Stephen Smith, David Nelligan.)

Highlights from the evening included:

• A guided tour of Kngwarray’s expressive paintings and early batiks
• Intimate discussions with the curator about the artist’s vision and legacy
• A chance to explore the bookshop and gather over drinks among guests from across the arts and diplomatic communities.

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to experience the full impact of Kngwarray’s visual language up close. Her bold, gestural canvases are rooted in her profound connection to Country - the Anmatyerre term encompassing land, waters, skies, ancestors, law, and culture. Her works are not representations of land, but embodiments of ancestral stories, relationships, and ecological rhythms.

From her early batik textiles to the vast, abstract paintings created after she began working with acrylics in her late 70s, Kngwarray’s legacy continues to inspire generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists - many of whom are also featured in the exhibition.

My Country includes previously unseen works and textile pieces by artists such as Judy Greenie Ngwarai, Annie Petyarre and Lena Pula Pwerle - testament to Kngwarray’s lasting influence on the women artists of the Utopia community.

This exhibition runs at Pace Gallery, London until 8 August 2025, before a major retrospective opens at Tate Modern on 10 July 2025, running through 11 January 2026.

Whether you're new to Emily Kam Kngwarray’s work or have long admired her practice, this is an unmissable chance to experience one of Australia’s greatest artistic voices in a landmark presentation for UK audiences.

🎟️ More information about the Pace and Tate exhibitions here.