SYMPOSIUM
Yarrenyty Arltere Artists Fashion Show at the Desert Mob 2023 Symposium. Photo by Rhett Hammerton
Araluen Arts
Centre THEATRE
Ticketed event
Online Ticket Sales Closed - Tickets Available at the door
Friday 6 September
10AM – 3:30PM
The Desert Mob 2024 symposium is an unmissable opportunity for audiences to hear firsthand from Aboriginal artists about their work and projects, community and country. A day of presentations by art centres and special guests, the symposium offers rich context to Desert Mob through presentations, interviews, film, and performance.
2024 SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM
Kililpi tjuTa
(Many stars)
Mimili MAku Arts
Artist, musician, artworker, radio broadcaster and storyteller, Desmond Woodforde, shares his original music and his journey as a practicing artist with Mimili Maku Arts art centre. With a style as diverse as his talents, Desmond is joined by his wife Harriette Bryant, to discuss the significance of Maralinga to their innovative art practices.
Images: Harriette Bryant with recent works at Mimili Maku Arts. Musician and artist Desmond Woodforde in Mimili. Images courtesy the artists and Mimili Maku Arts
Past, present & future: 40 years
Maruku Arts
Maruku Arts presented works in the first Desert Mob exhibition in 1991 and have continuously participated in Desert Mob since that time. The name Maruku literally means ‘belonging to black’ and this year marks their 40th year of service to Aṉangu and Yarnangu artists from the first exhibition of works by artists from Amaṯa, shown in a tent at the base of Uluru. Rene Kulitja, Billy Cooley and chairperson Marlene Cooley reflect on the past, present and future of Maruku Arts.
Image: Courtesy Maruku Arts
Apmer malangK (Beautiful land) Artists of Ampilatwatja
Bush medicines heal people and keep tradition and knowledge strong. Ampilatwatja artists share how their grandmothers and mothers taught them where and when to find plants, how to cook and use bush medicines. Their distinctive paintings feature the wildflowers and bush medicine plants that change with every season, every year. They paint together to connect their paintings and to celebrate apmer malangk (beautiful land).
Image: Denise Ngwarraye Bonney gathering wildflowers and bush medicine plants. Photo by Nicholas Osmond. Courtesy of the artist and Ampilatwatja Artists
London Calling
Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists
Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists present a short film documenting Warlpiri artist, Adrian Jangala Robertson’s travel to London for his first overseas trip and international solo exhibition exhibited at Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in June 2024 and supported by Arts NT – a pivotal moment in Adrian’s career.
Adrian will be in attendance to introduce this premiere screening for Desert Mob 2024.
Image: Adrian Jangala Robertson at his solo exhibition with Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, London, 2024. Courtesy of Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists
Nintiringanyi, kuNpuringanyi (Learning, becoming strong)
Tjanpi Desert Weavers
Artists from Kaltukatjara / Docker River bind, stitch and weave together harvested native grasses from the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands to create beautiful works of art. To celebrate their works in Desert Mob 2024, Tjanpi Desert Weavers present a demonstration of the joy and skill of fibre artistry from the Central and Western Desert regions.
Image: Pinuka (Margaret) Yai Yai and Julie Yangki. Photo by Shaana McNaught.
Courtesy of Tjanpi Desert Weavers
True Stories
Yarrenyty Arltere Artists
Storytelling is at the heart of the Yarrenyty Arltere Artists art centre and their soft sculptures often take on a life of their own! In this special presentation, artists Marlene Rubuntja, Vanessa Splinter, Louise Robertson and friends debut their latest animation, The Fix-It-Man and the Fix-It-Wooman, and present a puppet show on the theme of feral animals – as seen in their Desert Mob 2024 artworks!
Image: Still from The Fix-It-Man and the Fix-It-Wooman, 2024. Courtesy the artists, Studio Peeki and Yarrenyty Arltere Artists
Clay Country
Arlpwe Art and Culture Centre,
Ernabella Arts & Hermannsburg Potters
A panel of artists from three art centres representing diverse regions of central Australia reveal their different approaches to working with clay: from veteran art centre Ernabella Arts, who last year marked the 20th anniversary of their ceramic studio, to the Hermannsburg Potters, whose trademark works are finding new expression in local clay, and Arlpwe artists in the Barkly region who debut their first ceramic works at Desert Mob 2024.
Image: Rupert Jack working on his Desert Mob 2024 work at Pukatja. Courtesy of the artist and Ernabella Arts
Iwantja Inma – Song, Dance, Ceremony Iwantja Arts
Iwantja Arts presents the desert debut of Iwantja Inma – Song, Dance, Ceremony. Initiated by senior Iwantja artists, this project showcases traditional Anangu song and dance performed on country by Indulkana community members across generations and brings it to the big screen! Following its recent premiere at the NGV, this special presentation will include a screening of the multimedia work accompanied by a live inma performance.
Image: Video still from Iwantja Inma – Song, Dance, Ceremony 2024. Photo by Jackson Lee. Courtesy of the artists and Iwantja Arts
