Vivian Thompson Australian, Pitjantjatjara , b. 1978

Vivian was born in 1978 in Alice Springs and has lived in Ernabella since then. She is the current deputy chair of the Ernabella Council. She attended school at Kenmore Park and moved to Adelaide for high school, attending Wiltja School in Woodville.

Her father, Kunmanara (Kawaki) Thompson, was a highly regarded senior Pitjantjatjara man, who was very important in the Land Rights Movement. Her mother, Carlene, is on the board of NPY women's council and a senior member of the art centre and she has two sisters, Marissa and Anne, both of whom are talented ceramic artists.

Vivian is the mother of three children, and she is also a grandmother.

Vivian first started creating artwork while in school, and she also learnt the traditional way of milpatjunany (telling stories in the sand).

Vivian has been painting since 2004 and began working with ceramics in 2009. That year she was part of the Remote Communities Ceramic Project and did a residency at ANU's Ceramic Workshop. Vivian’s ceramics have been exhibited all over Australia.

In 2009 her work was acquired by the National Gallery of Australia.