Shaun Angeles Penangke is a Kungarakany and Arrernte man who grew up in the central desert lands of his mother in Mparntwe, Alice Springs. He belongs to a long lineage of Kwatye-kenhe (Rainmaker) and Yerrampe (Honey ant) families whose traditional country is centred on Apmere Ayampe and Apmere Alkwepetye, both located north of Mparntwe.

Shaun is the Artwe-kenhe (Men’s) Collection Researcher at the Strehlow Research Centre, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, and has worked in this capacity for the past five years with a very important and highly restricted collection of Central Australian Aboriginal men’s cultural heritage material consisting of sacred artefacts, archival documents, genealogies, and a digitised catalogue of ceremonial film and song recordings. This role involves complexed research that relies upon the continuous engagement and consultation with highly knowledgeable senior Aboriginal Elders who are imperative to the wellbeing of this significant collection.

He is currently completing a Masters of Research at the University of Western Sydney with a thesis based on the significant contributions of the Akngerrepate (senior Elders) who not only informed TGH Strehlow’s research, but were effectively the co-creators of this important body of ancestral cultural knowledge. Shaun is a member of the Indigenous Repatriation Program National Advisory Committee and is a passionate advocate of indigenous governance and agency within cultural heritage collections.

Shaun Angeles Penangke - Artwe-kenhe (Men’s) Collection Researcher at the Strehlow Research Centre, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory