Article: An Interview with Tjanpi Artist Joyce James

An Interview with Tjanpi Artist Joyce James

Joyce James is an artist belonging to the Ngaanyatjarra language and cultural group and lives in the remote community of Warakurna, Western Australia.

Born in Laverton WA, Joyce spent her childhood between Kaltukatjara (Docker River) in the Northern Territory and Warakurna. Joyce grew up watching her grandmothers, Tjuakpati James and Mrs Newberry, making Tjanpi. She is now married to the son of senior Tjanpi artist Dianne Golding and has been making Tjanpi baskets and sculptures since 2018.

Funding support was provided by the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support program, Creative Australia and Central Land Council.

“Tjanpi helps us with money - it helps with power cards to keep the house going, and to get food for my family. It helps me support my kids. Sometimes my daughter Charlotte comes to help me too with Tjanpi, and then she can get her own little bit of money for herself for the weekend.”

“It’s important for Tjanpi to keep going because it has been around for 30 years, a long time. The young ones should get into it so they can take on what their grandmothers and mothers have been doing. They need to learn for their future and their children’s future, so when their young ones grow up they can learn too. If the young ones don’t learn, then Tjanpi will be forgotten and fall down.”

“I like making Tjanpi. It’s good to make Tjanpi - sometimes when I feel sad it helps me get my mind off things and gives me something to do. I think about trying new things when I’m making animals. My favourite animal to make is tjilkamarta (echidna).”

“My daughter is learning to make Tjanpi and she helps me sometimes too. It’s very good for the young women to learn, otherwise they might lose some of their culture.”

- Joyce James, Tjanpi Desert Weavers artist

Allied Health Intensives: Putting Families at the Heart of Disability Support

For children living with disability in the NPY lands, access to allied health services like speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy is often limited by distance and availability and living spaces that may not make it possible to receive the preferred at-home support. NPY Women’s Council has developed an approach that bridges this gap - bringing families and professionals together in Mparntwe for intensive blocks of therapy designed around each child’s NDIS goals.

These allied health intensives are more than just appointments. They are whole-family experiences. Parents and carers are supported to travel and stay with their children, because NPY Women’s Council knows that families are the most important part of a child’s journey. By being involved directly, families learn strategies, practise skills alongside therapists, and return home with the confidence to continue therapy every day.

Behind the scenes, these intensives take months of planning and coordination. Support Coordinators work to bring together multiple professionals, fund travel and accommodation, and make sure families feel safe and cared for throughout the process.

The results speak for themselves:
• Children are making measurable progress toward their NDIS goals
• Families feel more confident and skilled to support their children at home
• Therapy strategies are embedded in daily life, not left behind in the clinic
• A fun, connected environment enhances learning, comradery and discovery in families supporting children

This collaborative, family-centred model shows what’s possible when services are designed with care, cultural understanding and strong coordination. By creating space for children and families to learn together, NPY Women’s Council is bringing about lasting change. This program was a partnership between NPYWC and SA Inclusion Australia.

Anangu Employment

Anangu employment remains central to NPY Women’s Council’s strength and impact. Working in the Malparara Malparara way, Anangu and non-Anangu, we ensure programs are grounded in culture, language and deep local knowledge. This approach delivers stronger outcomes for families and communities while building long-term leadership and capability across the region.

NPY Women's Council is grounded in, and continues to live and work on, the sovereign Lands of the Arrernte people, and the Aṉangu and Yarnangu people - the rightful custodians of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara lands.

An Interview with Tjanpi Artist Joyce James

Read more