Mariah Torres Akamarre was born in 1997 in Adelaide, the youngest daughter of Fred Torres and younger sister of Jade Akamarre. A proud Alyawarre woman, Mariah is an emerging artist carrying forward the same family line as Pwerle Gallery itself, granddaughter of Barbara Weir, great-granddaughter of Minnie Pwerle while building a path that is distinctly her own, both on canvas and beyond it.
Learn more about Mariah Akamarre below.
Mariah Torres Akamarre was born in 1997 in Adelaide, daughter of internationally renowned and respected Aboriginal art dealer Fred Torres. She is a young emerging Aboriginal artist, a proud Alyawarre/Anmatyerre woman and fourth-generation painter, following in the footsteps of her grandmother and great-grandmother, the late Barbara Weir and Minnie Pwerle.
Working in fine dot and line work on linen canvas, Mariah's paintings translate the ceremonial markings of Awelye into contemporary form, staying true to the patterns and meaning passed down to her, while bringing her own hand to the story. Where much of her family's painting looks back at Country and Dreaming already carried for decades, Mariah's work carries a particular focus on continuity forward, mirrored in her own position as one of the youngest artists now carrying the family's story.
Mariah's paintings represent the Dreaming of her family's Country, Atnwengerrp, in a body of work titled Awelye - Teaching Awelye to Young Girls. This Dreaming was passed down to Mariah by her Nanna, the late Barbara Weir.
Women's Awelye is painted on the upper body during ceremony, as an expression of respect and love for the land. It is then taught to the younger generation of girls, alongside the dances and songs that accompany it - a sacred practice, held only by Anmatyerre and Alyawarre women.
For Mariah, this piece is more than a painting; it is a continuation of the stories, lore and connection to Country carried by the women in her family. Passing down this Dreaming ensures these traditions are taught, remembered and kept alive for the next generation.
This story matters because it doesn't survive on its own, it lives only through the women who choose to keep teaching it. Every time this Dreaming is painted and shared, it's an act of protecting that knowledge for the next generation of girls, ensuring they grow up knowing the ceremony, the songs and their responsibility to Country, just as it was given to Mariah.
Mariah is also a qualified exercise scientist and personal trainer and brings lived experience and genuine community trust to her work well beyond her painting practice. She is the founder of Challenges Into Opportunities, an Aboriginal-led charity working alongside remote communities across Central Australia to deliver community led health and wellbeing initiatives. Currently completing a Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology alongside a Bachelor of Exercise Science, Mariah is deeply committed to preventive health and to ensuring communities themselves are upskilled to lead their own programs, rather than having health initiatives delivered to them from the outside. It's a genuinely distinctive combination: an artist carrying her family's cultural legacy in one hand, and a qualified health advocate building practical, community-led change in the other.
Read more about it here: https://www.challengesintoopportunities.com/Â
That same instinct to blend culture, art and wellness led Mariah to found her own label, Mariah Akamarre - a range of yoga mats, duffle bags and sweat towels featuring her Awelye designs, bringing her Dreaming into spaces it wouldn't traditionally be found. The range has drawn genuine outside recognition, including a collaboration with Esmi Skin Minerals on a dedicated Awelye travel bag.
Mariah's work carries the same direct, verifiable family lineage as every artist represented by Pwerle Gallery, granddaughter of Barbara Weir, great-granddaughter of Minnie Pwerle, sister to the gallery's own founder. Collecting her work now, early in her practice, means holding a genuine piece of the next chapter of this family's story, from an artist whose relationship to the culture she paints isn't second-hand, it was taught to her directly, by the women who came before her.
Mariah works are only exclusively through Pwerle Gallery.
Original works by Mariah Akamarre are available to view and purchase through Pwerle Gallery, by private appointment. Every piece is sold with full, direct family provenance.
Enquire about available works | Book a private viewing | hello@pwerle.com.au
