Katherine Coulthard Basket

Katherine Coulthard grew up in the remote community of Apatula in the Northern Territory, and now resides in Mparntwe (Alice
Springs).

She grew up watching and learning weaving from artists Nelly Patterson, Mintatjarra Wilson and other Elders from Mutitjulu. Her sister Justine Anderson taught her to weave with coloured raffia, and she began making Tjanpi in 2023. Katherine loves to make baskets, bowls and dream catchers, often incorporating painted gumnuts and emu feathers.

She also paints Honey Ant Dreaming, Kungkarangkalpa (Seven Sisters) and women's Dreaming/Ceremonies.

Tjanpi (meaning ‘dry grass’) evolved from a series of basket weaving workshops held on remote communities in the Western Desert by the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara Womens’ Council in 1995. Building on tradi􀆟ons of using fibre for medicinal, ceremonial and daily purposes, women took easily to making coiled baskets. These new-found skills were shared with relations on neighboring communities and weaving quickly spread.

Today there are over 400 women across 28 communities making baskets and sculptures out of grass and working with fibre in this way is firmly embedded in Western and Central Desert culture. While out collecting desert grasses for their fibre art women visit sacred sites and traditional homelands, hunt and gather food for their families and teach their children about Country.

Tjanpi Desert Weavers is Aboriginal owned and is directed by an Aboriginal executive. It is an arts business but also a social enterprise that provides numerous social and cultural benefits and services to weavers and their families. Tjanpi’s philosophy is to keep culture strong, maintain links with country and provide meaningful employment to the keepers and teachers of the desert weaving.