Jirrbal / Girramay Traditional Owner
Painter, Weaver and Potter

Nancy Beeron is a Jirrbal/Girramay woman of the North Murray area. She lives at the Jumbun community where is she is a well known and respected weaver of the Jawun, bicornual basket. Nancy collects special lawyer canes from the rainforest on her traditional country, prepares and splits the cane into fine strips. She then weaves intricate jawun. These were traditionally used for carrying food, tools and babies. The jawun was also used in the process of making poisonous seeds such as the black bean edible. The seeds were placed in the jawun for a number of days in the running waters of the creek to remove the toxins from the seeds.

Nancy’s weavings have been exhibited in a number of exhibitions including Story Place: Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest, and more recently Woven Forms: Weavings from the Jumbun, Lockhart River and Aurukun Communitites. Her weavings have been purchased for permanent collections in galleries and museums throughout Australia and for private collections. Jawun baskets by Nancy are also on permanent display at the Cairns Convention Centre.

Nancy is also a painter and a potter.

Exhibitions:
2012 Bagu Visits Mission, Unique Frames, Mission Beach
2011 Across Country Five Years Of Indigenous Australian Art, GOMA QLD
2011 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal, Cairns
2011 QR Tilt Train, Art + Place Project, Launched Cairns September 2011
2011 Spinifex Country and Beyond, Gatakers Art space, Maryborough
2011 Bunyaydinyu Bagu, Suzanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane
2009 Mundi – Big Mob, Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre, Cardwell
2009 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns
2008/09 Black Roots, Kick Arts Contemporary Arts, Cairns
2006 Wabu-Barra: Art from the Rainforest

Cultural Centre
Woven Forms: Weavings from the Jumbun Lockhart River and Aurukun Communities