Marrawuddi Arts and Culture: Mirarr Traditional Owners, Jabiru, Kakadu National Park, NT
Vienna Buramura started learning to weave when she was 11. Her mother taught her. Now she uses dilly bags to collect green plum, bush carrot, and yams, and she is teaching her own kids. "My grandfather passed it on to me," she says, "and then my father passed it on to me. And then I'm showing my kids too." That chain of transmission is what Marrawuddi Arts and Culture exists to support. Owned and governed by the Mirarr Traditional Owners of Kakadu, and housed in the repurposed Jabiru Bakery, the centre supports more than 500 artists from Kakadu and West Arnhem Land across painting, screen-printing, weaving, photography, and sculpture. Artists work in a dedicated studio on site, and the centre runs regular bush trips to gather traditional materials including pandanus, bush dye, and bark.
The name Marrawuddi means "White Belly Sea-Eagle" in the Kundjeyhmi language, a bird that moves through the wetlands and escarpments of Kakadu's World Heritage landscape. Bark painting is a major part of the centre's practice. Artists prepare dolobbo (bark) themselves, stripping and flattening sheets of Stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta), then applying ochre and natural pigments bound with bush gum to create works that carry clan designs and Dreaming stories. The centre is a member of the Indigenous Art Code and ANKA (Arnhem, Northern and Kimberley Artists), and is governed by Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation. A café at the front of the gallery serves Campos coffee daily.
Marrawuddi Arts and Culture at a glance
- Location: Jabiru Bakery building, Jabiru, Kakadu National Park, NT.
- Traditional Owners: Mirarr, Kundjeyhmi language group, Kakadu and West Arnhem Land.
- Artists: 500+ from Kakadu and West Arnhem Land.
- Art forms: Bark painting (dolobbo), fibre/pandanus weaving, painting on canvas and paper, screen-printing, photography, sculpture.
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8am–4pm, Saturday 8am–2pm, Sunday and public holidays closed.
- Access: No permit required to visit Jabiru. A Kakadu National Park pass is required to enter the park.
- Café: Campos coffee and cold refreshments available in the gallery.
