Clan

Maḏarrpa

Artist Dates

Born 1953

Alternative Names

Djambawa, Djambawa Marawili, Djambuwa, Miniyawany, Terry

Dr. Djambawa Marawili AM

Djambawa Marawili AM is an acclaimed painter, sculptor and printmaker, and is a principal ceremonial leader of the Maḏarrpa clan of the Yolŋu people. He uses art as a tool in his practice as a cultural leader, and many of his artworks express the deep connection of Yolngu people to water and sea. In 1996 he won the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award for the Best Bark Painting for a painting that is in the Kluge-Ruhe Collection.

A leader in the interface between non-Aboriginal and Yolngu people, Marawili led a successful campaign resulting in federal recognition of Yolngu sea rights in 2008. He was chosen by the Australian Prime Minister as a member of the Indigenous Advisory Council in 2013 and was named a Member of the Order of Australia.

In 2019 he was awarded first prize in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards for his painting Americalili Marrtji | Journey to America, produced for the Maḏayin commission. In 2023 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Melbourne.