Ikuntji Artists, Haasts Bluff NT. Photo: Ikuntji Artists
Ikuntji Artists – Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji), Northern Territory
In the 1980s, women at Haasts Bluff began painting in the community's aged care facility. They had been taught by their husbands and fathers and had often helped the men finish their canvases. By the early 1990s these women decided to set up their own art centre. Ikuntji Artists was established in 1992 following a series of workshops with Melbourne artist Marina Strocchi and under the influence of the then community president, the late Esther Jugadai. It began as a women's centre providing services such as catering for elders and children, but after early experiments with T-shirt printing, the artists moved to acrylic paintings on linen and handmade paper that quickly drew international attention. Ikuntji Artists was the first art centre established by women in the Western Desert Art Movement.
The community of Haasts Bluff, 227 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the West MacDonnell Ranges, is home to around 150 Luritja, Pintupi, and Western Arrernte speakers. The art centre is governed by a board of seven Indigenous directors and was incorporated as Ikuntji Artists Aboriginal Corporation in 2005. Artists draw on their ngurra (country) and Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) to produce paintings, hand-screen-printed textiles, edition prints, and handmade objects. The work is known for its bold colour and decisive brushwork. Senior artist Mitjili Napurrula, who started painting at Ikuntji with her husband Long Tom Tjapanangka at the centre's opening in 1992, won the Alice Springs Art Prize in 1999 for a work depicting the Watiya Tjuta (desert oak) Dreaming of her father's country. Keturah Zimran OAM, born at Haasts Bluff in 1978, began painting seriously in 2005 and received the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the visual arts in 2022. Her work is held in the Parliament House Collection.
Ikuntji Artists at a glance
- Location: 8 Marks Street, Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji) NT 0872, 227km west of Alice Springs
- Language groups: Luritja, Pintupi, Western Arrernte
- Established: 1992
- Art forms: Acrylic painting on linen and canvas, hand-screen-printed textiles and fabrics, edition prints, handmade objects
- Notable artists: Mitjili Napurrula, Keturah Zimran OAM, Alice Nampitjinpa Dixon, Eunice Napanangka Jack, Mavis Marks, Alison Napurrula Multa
- Collections: National and international galleries and institutions; Parliament House Collection
- Getting there: Via Namatjira Drive from Alice Springs; 4WD recommended; contact the art centre before visiting
