Thea Anamara Perkins (b. 1992) is an Arrernte/Kalkadoon artist whose practice incorporates portraiture and landscape to depict authentic representations of First Nations peoples and Country. Her work answers heavy questions about what it means to be Indigenous in contemporary Australia, and how Aboriginal people can and should be portrayed.
Perkin's Arrernte name Anamara describes a river and a Dreaming that runs north of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) – the place that has been the source of art and activism for her family, and by extension, the nation. Perkins continues her family's commitment to what she calls "strong and ready communication" and is part of an extraordinary dynasty of First Nations activists and creatives that includes activist Charles Perkins (her grandfather), Arrernte elder Hetti Perkins (her great-grandmother), curator Hetti Perkins (her mother) and acclaimed film director Rachel Perkins (her aunt).
Thea Anamara Perkins is a cross-disciplinary creative working who also works as director, curator, editor, and cultural producer, has worked in a broad range of community projects and is also an active member of Seed, Australia's first Indigenous youth-led climate network. Perkins won the Alice Prize & Dreaming Award in 2020, and the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship in 2021.
