Yarrenyty Arltere Artists is the vibrant beating heart of the Yarrenyty Arltere Town Camp in Mparntwe / Alice Springs. Comprising Arrernte, Western Arrarnta Luritja, Warlpiri, Anmatyerr, Alyawarr, Gurindji and English speakers, the art centre is a place where people make art, work out problems, look after family and plan for their future.
Established in 2000 as a response to the chronic social issues the community were facing at that time, it has now, after many years of hard work and love, become an internationally recognised art centre. The beautiful soft sculptures that Yarrenyty Arltere Artists is renowned for, made from recycled bush-dyed blankets, stitched, and embellished, are held in major public and private collections across Australia and internationally.
Working in soft sculpture, textiles, works on paper, fashion, and film, this small but dynamic art centre has given opportunity and voice to people that so often have found themselves marginalised. Rich in personality, the artwork is a way for the artists to share with the wider community their stories, their hopes, and their commitment to improving outcomes.
Yarrenyty Arltere Artists is one of several Town Camp art programs; Tangentyere Artists is the hub for Town Camp Arts. Yarrenyty Arltere Artists is part of Tangentyere Council.
In the early 1970s, Paddy Japaljarri Stewart was involved in the painting of the mural on the Papunya School wall. In 1983, he and Paddy Japaljarri Sims were instrumental, together with other senior men, in the painting of the now famous Yuendumu school doors. With other senior leaders, including Darby Jampijinpa Ross, Jack Jakamarra Ross, Samson Japaljarri Martin, Uni Nampijinpa Martin, Dolly Nampijinpa Daniels, Rosie Nangala Fleming and Maggie Napangardi Watson, they went on to found the Warlukurlangu art centre in 1985. It was incorporated in 1986. Maintenance of culture was the driving motivation of the leaders of the art centre, most of whom were also leaders of the men’s and women’s ceremonies. Warlukurlangu Artists has now been the primary cultural organisation in Yuendumu for 38 years.
From its inception, Warlukurlangu’s art was recognised for its bold use of colour through an unrestricted palette, and this was integral to the distinctive style that emerged. The paintings tell the story of the artists’ connection to their country, the features of the landscape, the plants and animals that are found there, and ancestral narratives from the Jukurrpa.
Warlayirti Artists (est. 1987) is a holistic artistic enterprise that prioritises the mental and spiritual health of artists and families through Connection to Country camps and cultural development, as well as daily arts practice. Without culture, there is no art.
The former Balgo Hills mission and surrounding stations brought together eight language groups: Kukatja, Walmajarri, Jaru, Wangkajunga, Pintupi, Warlpiri, Ngardi and Manyjilyjarra. This region, known as the Kutjungka (together, as one), is in the south-east Kimberley, on the edge of the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts.
Warlayirti represents over 200 artists from the Kutjungka communities of Wirrimanu / Balgo, Mulan, Kururrungku / Billiluna and Kundat Djaru / Ringer Soak.
Balgo art has a reputation for vibrant colour, bold brush strokes and distinctly individual forms. The art from Balgo and the surrounding region is charged with the strength of cultural diversity.
The passing on of story through painting, as well as time spent on country is essential for the intergenerational transfer of knowledge and the future strength of communities. For this multicultural and diverse artistic group, art is part of everyday life and cultural continuity.
Warlayirti is governed by a Kutjungka board of directors, made up of cultural leaders and an Elder advisory body. Our ethics are centred on working tjungarni (right-way) and with ngaparrku-ngaparrku (reciprocity, two-way relationships).
Warakurna Artists is a 100% Indigenous owned and governed art centre located close to the Great Central Road in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia. The art centre provides services to artists living in and visiting Warakurna, Wanarn and Patjarr communities through a range of programs designed to support artists at all stages of their careers.
Warakurna Artists was founded in 2005 and quickly established itself as an energetic community enterprise, focused on the contemporary expression of Ngaanyatjarra culture and Tjukurrpa through the practice of painting. Although painting is the primary activity, the art centre is also an integrated community asset that provides services beyond the reach of the studio, including the facilitation of trips on country, social advocacy and local employment. Warakurna Artists is renowned for its expressive and contemporary Western Desert style and its continuity with history and tradition.
Situated at Uluṟu, Walkatjara Art is Muṯitjuḻu Community’s art centre, a not-for-profit community enterprise owned and directed by Aṉangu. The art centre is located within the cultural centre of the Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa National Park in the Northern Territory. Walkatjara Art supports young and senior artists from Muṯitjuḻu who are known for creating vibrant and culturally strong paintings and sculptures that depict local Tjukurpa stories. The art centre offers an environment where local artists can relax and express themselves creatively. Artists take pride in their work and their art centre and are strong advocates for local culture.
Utopia Art Centre is 100% Indigenous owned and community directed. The art centre supports emerging and established artists. It provides a space for intergenerational learning and cultural expression. We’re keeping our generations stronger, through knowledge on our land.
Located 250 km north-east of Mparntwe / Alice Springs, Utopia Art Centre works across 16 remote homelands. Utopia has a diverse history with artists gaining international recognition for batik in the 1980s before transitioning to painting. Carving has been a key form of cultural expression for local artists and continues today. Many senior artists have travelled and exhibited across the world, including the famed Emily Kam Kngwarray.
The bold brushwork and expressive colour that set Utopia artists apart is sustained by the younger generation of children and grandchildren painting today. Established in 2020, the art centre is located in Arlparra in the Sandover region, and is currently building a new studio and gallery space.
Tjungu Palya was founded in March 2006 in Nyapari, at the foot of the Mann Ranges in the far northwest of South Australia in the APY Lands.
At our art centre, artists from the communities of Kanpi, Nyapari and Watarru come together to paint, share stories, pass on culture and earn money to support their families.
Tjungu Palya, meaning “good together”, is one of the Australias prominent remote art centres. Its many senior and emerging artist profiles have become notable through the inclusion in prestigious art awards and international exhibitions, and extensive acquisitions by public and private collectors.
Tjarlirli Art and Kaltukatjara Art are successful and well-regarded Aboriginal owned art centres in the communities of Tjukurla in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia, and Kaḻṯukatjara / Docker River in the Pitjantjatjara Lands of the Northern Territory.
Established in 2006, Tjarlirli Art is recognised as a source of culturally significant artwork produced by elders and many young artists who are keen to carry on in the same tradition. The artwork has strong links with the Papunya Tula movement, as families left Kintore and Kiwirrkurra to return to their homelands in the mid-1980s.
In 2016, after many years of advocacy from the community of Kaḻṯukatjara, Tjarlirli began managing Kaḻṯukatjara’s art centre as well. There are strong family links between the communities, and the artists are proud to work together. The art centres work to promote and strengthen cultural and social systems through art, and provide opportunities for sustainable creative, economic and professional development.
Tjanpi Desert Weavers is a social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council (NPY Women’s Council) that enables women living in the remote Central and Western Desert regions to earn an income from fibre art. Tjanpi represents over 400 Aboriginal women artists from 26 remote communities across Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Tjanpi artists use native grasses to make spectacular contemporary fibre art, weaving beautiful baskets and sculptures and displaying a seemingly endless creativity and inventiveness. Working with fibre in this way has become a fundamental part of Central and Western desert cultures.
Tjanpi embodies the energies and rhythms of country, culture and community. Women regularly come together to collect grass, taking the time to hunt, gather food, perform inma (cultural song and dance) and teach their children about country while creating an ever-evolving array of fibre artworks. The shared stories, skills and experiences of this wide-reaching network of mothers, daughters, aunties, sisters and grandmothers form the bloodline of the desert-weaving phenomenon and fuel Tjanpi’s rich history of collaborative practice.
Tjanpi has a public gallery in Alice Springs, exhibits work in national galleries, facilitates commissions for public institutions, and holds weaving workshops.
Established in 1999, Tjala Arts (formerly Minymaku Arts) is located in Amaṯa Community, in far north-west South Australia on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands). An Aboriginal owned and managed corporation, Tjala Arts boasts an exciting exhibition program supporting established, mid-career and emerging artists. The art centre also plays a significant role in the wellbeing of the community and maintaining culture and law.
Tjala artists embrace a variety of mediums, including acrylic paint on linen, puṉu (woodwork) and tjanpi (fibre weaving) and new media arts, and is renowned for its reputation of artistic excellence and innovative projects. The Kuḻaṯa Tjuṯa (Many Spears) project, with its origins at Tjala Arts, has since spread across the APY Lands as a powerful cultural rejuvenation project focused on sharing the skills of spear making across generations.
