Tjala Arts: Anangu Art from Amata, APY Lands
Tjala is the Pitjantjatjara word for honey ant, a traditional bush food and the Tjukurpa for the Amata area. The name points directly to what this art centre is: a place where country, story, and practice are one thing, not three.
Established in 1999 in Amata community in far north-west South Australia, Tjala Arts is an Aboriginal-owned and governed corporation supporting artists across three generations. The APY Lands cover more than 103,000 square kilometres of arid country, home to around 2,500 people. Senior law woman Nyurpaya Kaika has described Tjala Arts as the "true heart of Amata Community." Artist Frank Young put the economic logic plainly: "When artists like us run our own business, the money goes back to our families and community. Everyone in our community shares in the success of Tjala Arts."
Artists work across acrylic on linen, punu (wood carving), tjanpi (fibre weaving), photography, and new media. The centre is known for vibrant colour and energetic mark making. In 2010 a photography program began, instigated by young women in Amata who wanted to work with new media to tell Tjukurpa stories alongside their lives as young Anangu women.
The careers launched here include Wawiriya Burton, Ray Ken, Mick Wikilyiri, Sylvia Ken, Barbara Moore, and the five Ken Sisters — Yaritji Young, Freda Brady, Sandra Ken, Maringka Tunkin, and Tjungkara Ken — who won the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2016. In 2017 Rhonda Dick and Anwar Young won the overall prize at the 34th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards for their multimedia collaborative work with fellow Tjala artist Frank Young.
The Kulata Tjuta (many spears) project was formally established at Tjala Arts in 2010, conceived by senior artists Hector Burton, Ray Ken, Mick Wikilyiri, Frank Young, and others under the direction of Willy Kaika Burton. Focused on teaching young men the skills of carving and kulata (spear) production, it has since spread across the APY Lands as a cultural rejuvenation project, now facilitated by the APY Art Centre Collective.
Tjala Arts at a glance
- Established: 1999. Located in Amata community, APY Lands, far north-west South Australia.
- Country: Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. More than 103,000 square kilometres of arid country, home to around 2,500 people. Member of the APY Art Centre Collective.
- Art Style and Media: Acrylic on linen, punu (wood carving), tjanpi (fibre weaving), photography, and new media. Known for vibrant colour and energetic mark making.
- Notable Artists: Wawiriya Burton, Ray Ken, Mick Wikilyiri, Sylvia Ken, Barbara Moore, Yaritji Young, Freda Brady, Sandra Ken, Maringka Tunkin, Tjungkara Ken, Rhonda Dick, Anwar Young, Frank Young, Willy Kaika Burton.
- Awards: Wynne Prize 2016 (Ken Sisters); Telstra NATSIAA overall prize 2017 (Rhonda Dick, Anwar Young, Frank Young).
- Public Collections: National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of South Australia.
