Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists: Aboriginal Art from Alice Springs
Artists at Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists © Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists
It began, as it often does, with a corner and a material to hand. In the 1990s, Billy Benn Perrurle was working at Bindi Enterprises in Alice Springs, an organisation established in 1978 to provide employment and advocacy for people with disability. During his time constructing metal boxes in the workshop, he claimed a corner and began painting on off-cuts of timber and sheets of scrap metal, mapping out his father's country through the painted image. The Mwerre Anthurre Artists collective was founded around his talent in 2000.
Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists is the first studio in Australia to occupy the intersection between supported disability studios and Aboriginal art centres. Artists hail from communities across the Central Desert region, from Kaltukatjara (Docker River) to Yuendumu, though most reside in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). The painting process is an expression of self and connection to home country, an act that upholds personal and cultural identity. As Billy Benn Perrurle described it: "Beautiful Art Made Proper Way."
Curator Hetti Perkins has written that the Mwerre Anthurre artists have forged an idiosyncratic interpretation of the classic landscape genre, envisioning the heart of Australia in calligraphic sweeps that capture a dramatic play of colour and light. Among the studio's most recognised artists is Adrian Robertson Jangala, a Warlpiri painter who won the NATSIAA General Painting Award in 2020, the Alice Prize in 2022, and held a solo exhibition at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in London in 2024. Billy Tjampitjinpa Kenda has work selected for the 2018 NATSIAA. In 2011 the studio won the Northern Territory Chief Minister's Award for Excellence in Inclusive Practice by Aboriginal Arts Centres.
Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists at a glance
- Founded: Mwerre Anthurre Artists collective established 2000, growing out of Bindi Enterprises (est. 1978). The first studio in Australia at the intersection of supported disability studios and Aboriginal art centres.
- Location: 47 Elder Street, Ciccone, Mparntwe (Alice Springs), NT. Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.
- Artists: Artists from communities across the Central Desert, from Kaltukatjara (Docker River) to Yuendumu, mostly residing in Mparntwe.
- Art Style: Painting, drawing, printmaking and digital art. Works portray the essence, beauty and humour of Central Australia, with landscape and connection to Country as central themes.
- Notable Artists: Adrian Robertson Jangala (NATSIAA 2020, Alice Prize 2022, London solo 2024), Billy Tjampitjinpa Kenda (NATSIAA 2018), the late Billy Benn Perrurle.
- Public Collections: National Gallery of Australia. Exhibited nationally and internationally.
