Barbara Weir became active in the local land rights movement of the 1970s and was elected the first woman president of the Indigenous Urapunta Council in 1985.
14 Facts About Barbara Weir
1.
2.
Barbara Weir managed the artistic career of her own mother, Minnie Pwerle, who was a noted artist.
3.
Barbara Weir was born about 1945 at Bundey River Station, a cattle station in the Utopia region of the Northern Territory.
4.
Barbara Weir's parents were Minnie Pwerle, an Aboriginal woman, and Jack Weir, a married Irish man described by various sources as a pastoral station owner, "an Irish Australian man who owned a cattle run called Bundy River Station", or an Irish stockman.
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Some, like Barbara Weir, were "fostered out", and she grew up in a series of foster homes in Alice Springs, Victoria, and Darwin.
6.
In Darwin, at age 18 and working as a maid, Barbara Weir married Mervyn Torres.
7.
Mother and daughter were reunited but, although Barbara Weir regularly visited her family at Utopia, she did not form a close bond with her mother at first.
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Minnie Pwerle 8.
Barbara Weir then moved permanently to Utopia with her mother and family.
9.
Barbara Weir was active in the local land rights movement of the 1970s, working to recover Aboriginal territory.
10.
Barbara Weir was elected as the first woman president of the Indigenous Urapunta Council in 1985.
11.
Barbara Weir first painted in 1989 at the age of about 45.
12.
Barbara Weir's paintings include representations of particular plants and "dreamings", inspired by deep Aboriginal traditions.
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Barbara Weir's works have been exhibited at and collected by major institutions.
14.
Barbara Weir played a significant role in managing her mother's artistic career, including regularly preventing her from being "kidnapped" by people wanting the aging artist to paint for them.