Charmaine Pwerle is an emerging artist from Utopia in the Northern Territory. Charmaine started out life in Alice Springs, her birth place, yet spent her primary years in Utopia where she was immersed into artistic life and surrounded by the likes of Gloria Petyarre and Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Charmaine is the daughter of established artist Barbara Weir and granddaughter to Minnie Pwerle, also a famous artist from the Utopia region.
From the age of seven Charmaine spent three years in Adelaide for educational reason and returned to Utopia for a further year. She then attended high school in Alice Springs. In 1992 she returned to Utopia after another period of time spent in Adelaide. From here she worked for the Urapuntja Council while living with her mother and grandparents. It was from this time that Charmaine embraced her people’s culture by performing in ceremonies and learning sacred stories passed on to her by her grandmothers.
With such a rich artistic lineage, it is not surprising that Charmaine is also a talented artist. She paints with a bold brush stroke that exudes confidence and pays homage to her Grandmother Minnie Pwerle. Charmaine represents the new generation of Utopian artists and is dedicated to preserving her dreaming stories.