Gooniyandi artists working in acrylic and ochre on canvas, alongside boab nut carving and traditional artefacts. Laarri Art Centre (GIRRWARLI) sits within Yiyili School, 110km west of Halls Creek in the Kimberley.
Continue reading →
In 1888, a Larrakia man named Billamook was among three Aboriginal prisoners in Fannie Bay Gaol whose drawings were submitted to the Intercolonial Exhibition in Melbourne, listed in the fine arts section: the first time Aboriginal artworks had been exhibited as art rather than as "primitive art". Larrakia Nation Arts (LNA) carries that practice forward as a meeting place for Larrakia and urban Indigenous artists in Darwin.
Continue reading →
The rock art galleries around Kalumburu hold figures known to the Kwini people as Kira Kiro: spiritual beings said to have been painted onto the stone by the beak of the Sandstone Strike Thrush using blood from the tips of its wings. Senior artist Mary Punchi Clement gave these figures to the art centre as its name when Kira Kiro Artists was established in 2009 at Kalumburu, the northernmost settlement in Western Australia.
Continue reading →
In 1988, the women of Santa Teresa travelled to the Australian Bicentennial Craft Show and exhibited their work, the first time an Aboriginal group had done so. The art they showed had begun just a year earlier, from a nine-week fabric-painting course. By 1989 they had their own purpose-built art centre, named after the Dreaming place of founding artist Kathleen Kemarre Wallace: Keringke, an ancient rockhole formed when an ancestor Kangaroo passed through the country.
Continue reading →
On 16 August 1975, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam poured a handful of Gurindji soil into the palm of Vincent Lingiari, returning land nine years after Lingiari had led over 200 people off Wave Hill Cattle Station. Many of the elders who walked off that day were still alive when Karungkarni Art and Culture Aboriginal Corporation was established in 2011, and it was at their request that it was formed.
Continue reading →
One of the most distinctive art forms associated with Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre is the creation of Bagu with Jiman, traditional fire-making tools that have been transformed into unique sculptural artworks.
Continue reading →
The art centre is particularly renowned for its carved sculptures, which are a significant aspect of the cultural heritage of the Wik and Kugu peoples. These sculptures often depict totemic animals such as dogs and birds, ancestral figures, and elements of the natural world.
Continue reading →
Bana Yirriji, meaning 'river current' in the Kuku Yalanji language, symbolises the flow of cultural knowledge and artistic expression that is central to the community's identity.
Continue reading →
Mangkaja, meaning 'shelter' in the local Walmajarri language, provides a roof under which artists from different language groups including Walmajarri, Bunuba, Wangkajunga, Nyikina, and Gooniyandi, come together in Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia.
Continue reading →
Weaving in Gapuwiyak Arts represents a profound intersection of art, culture, economic sustainability, and heritage preservation. The meticulous processes involved in gathering materials, designing patterns, mastering techniques, and natural dying bring forth breathtaking works of art that encapsulate the essence of Yolngu culture. Through the empowerment and economic opportunities provided by Gapuwiyak Arts, Yolngu weavers can create sustainable livelihoods while maintaining their ancestral practices.
Continue reading →
