Pukumani Poles, 1958. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Photo: AGNSW
Jilamara Arts and Crafts, Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory
When Timothy Cook won the overall Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2012, he became the most prominent of a long line of Jilamara artists to achieve national recognition. He was preceded by Kitty Kantilla (1928–2003), whose major retrospective toured the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of NSW in 2007, and the elder painters Freda Warlapinni (1928–2003), whose ochre works on bark helped establish Jilamara's reputation in its early years. Jilamara Arts and Crafts was established in 1988 in the community of Milikapiti on Wulirankuwu Country, on the north coast of Melville Island overlooking the Arafura Sea. The name Jilamara refers to the ceremonial ochre designs traditionally applied to the human body for ceremony, and the art centre's practice has grown directly from that tradition.
The art centre is the cultural hub of Milikapiti and houses working studios, a wood carving workshop, a screen-printing shed and the architecturally designed Kutuwulumi Gallery, named after Kitty Kantilla and opened in 2012. The Muluwurri Museum, established in 1988, holds the only historical collection on Melville Island: carvings, artefacts, prints and early photographs held in trust for the community. Around 60 active artists are represented, working in ochre painting on bark, canvas, linen and paper, carved ironwood tutini (burial poles), screen-printed textiles and printmaking. Natural ochres in red, yellow, white and black are collected on Country around Milikapiti and prepared in the studios. Pedro Wonaeamirri, a painter, carver and performer who began at Jilamara in 1989, won the Telstra NATSIAA Multimedia Award in 2021; Raelene Kerinauia won the Bark section in 2011. Works by Jilamara artists are held in all major Australian public collections and in international collections including the Commonwealth Institute, London.
Jilamara Arts and Crafts at a glance
- Location: Milikapiti, north coast of Melville Island, Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory
- Language group: Tiwi
- Established: 1988, incorporated 1989; owned and governed by Tiwi artists
- Art forms: Ochre painting on bark, canvas, linen and paper; carved ironwood tutini poles; screen-printed textiles; printmaking; wood sculpture
- Key technique: Jilamara (ceremonial body paint designs); pwoja (ironwood comb) technique for geometric patterning; natural ochre palette of red, yellow, white and black
- Notable artists: Timothy Cook (2012 Telstra NATSIAA overall winner), Pedro Wonaeamirri (2021 Telstra NATSIAA Multimedia Award), Raelene Kerinauia (2011 Telstra NATSIAA Bark Award), Kitty Kantilla (1928–2003), Freda Warlapinni (1928–2003)
- Collections: National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of NSW, Queensland Art Gallery, Commonwealth Institute London
- Getting there: Milikapiti is accessible by light aircraft from Darwin; Tiwi Islands permit required for visits outside organised tours
