Visual Arts - Touring 2011
Paintings (top) Billy Benn Perrurle, Artetyerre, 2009 and (bottom) Lance James,
Photos courtesy of Bindi Inc. Mwerre Anthurre Artists
Good Strong Powerful
In partnership with Arts Access Darwin, this touring exhibition will showcase the extraordinary works of established and emerging Indigenous artists with disabilities which have been produced through Art Centres in the Northern Territory.
Including artists from: Ngaruwanajirri on Bathurst (Tiwi) Island; Mwerre Anthurre based at Bindi Inc. in Alice Springs; and Julalikari Arts in Tennant Creek.
It is envisioned that this exhibition will work towards raising the profile of artists who too often are placed into a narrow ‘art therapy’ model yet their practice is often ground breaking, inclusive and celebrate diverse artistic talent.
Touring 2011:
17 June - 8 July: Civic Centre Gallery, Katherine
15 July - 12 Aug: Nyinkka Nyunyu Cultural Centre, Tennant Creek
1 Oct - 31 Dec: Australian National Gallery, Canberra
Touring 2011-13:
National tour available. Please contact us if you are interested in hosting this exhibition.
Djalkiri: we are standing on their names - Blue Mud Bay
This exquisite series of prints is the culmination of a vibrant and intensive cross-cultural exchange between five highly respected Yithuwa Madarrpa artists and four renowned artists from across Australia. In October 2009 artists Djambawa Marawili, Marrirra Marawili, Liyawaday Wirrpanda, Marrnyula Mununggurr and Mulkun Wirrpanda participated in a printmaking workshop with master printmaker Basil Hall at the community of Yilpara working alongside visiting artists Fiona Hall, John Wolseley, Jörg Schmeisser and Judy Watson. The 23 selected exhibition works resulting from this exchange capture essential aspects of country at Blue Mud Bay in Eastern Arnhem Land, recognised as one of the most pristine and culturally significant places in Australia.
The title, Djalkiri: we are standing on their names - Blue Mud Bay,is drawn from the words of Djambawa Marawili, Djalkiri literally means ‘footprint’, but when applied to Yolgnu law it takes on a more profound meaning, forming the ‘spiritual foundation of the world’. It is an acknowledgement of cultural inheritance based on understanding and mutual respect. It is about walking together in the footsteps of the ancestors.
At Yilpara, accompanied by ethno-biologist Glenn Wightman, anthropologist Howard Morphy and photographer Peter Eve, the artists made trips to country, visiting ancestral sites and sharing traditional and scientific knowledge. Around the campfire at night they discussed culture, history, sea rights and events, each of the artists responding to the experience in their own way.
Djambawa Marawili
Garrangali 2010, etching & screenprint
50 x 62 cm
Touring 2011
Date tbc
Adelaide Botanic Gardens
Date tbc
Morwell Art Gallery
Top: Camel, 2009 ; Stephanie Campbell, Titjikala Community, Crochet with needle felting.
Middle: Pantjitji McKenzie from Alice Springs demonstrates at the festival workshop.
Bottom: Visitors to the show, Araluen Cultural Precinct, July 2009.
Photographer: Dave Nixon.
The Beanie Festival - Colours of the Country III
Supported by the Alice Springs Beanie Festival, Arts NT and Artback NT.
As iconic Australian headwear, the beanie has been celebrated by the Alice Springs Beanie Festival since 1996. Attracting contributors from around Australia and overseas, beanie makers compete in events like “Australia’s Flashest Beanie.”
This exhibition was developed by Artback NT and the Alice Springs Beanie Festival as a celebration of a dynamic community arts event, as well as to share in the joy of creativity with beanie lovers everywhere. Colours of the Country 2 demonstrates the growth of the beanie as an artform over the years and the imagination, creativity and fine craftsmanship presented in each piece. It is a colourful exhibition encapsulating the whimsical essence of the Beanie Festival. The collection also highlights the works produced by Indigenous artists from the Central Desert region who are regular collaborators in this cross cultural event. An exhibition embraced by a broad cross section of the community, the collection will inspire audiences to laugh, don crazy headwear and knit.
| PDF Downloads |
| Education Kit Part 1 |
| Education Kit Part 2 |
| Beanie Education Sheet |
Touring Itinerary for 2010 - 2012 is now in progress. If you would like to host this exhibition, please contact us.
Northern Impressions - A Celebration of Comtemporary Printmaking
Northern Impressions is a vibrant celebration of Australian contemporary fine art prints, presented by Artback NT: Arts Development and Touring, in conjunction with Northern Editions, Charles Darwin University.
Eubena Nampitjin
Midjul, 2007
etching
Warlayirti Artists, Balgo, WA
Minnie Lumai
Yab-yab-gnerni-gnim, 2008
etching, aquatint
Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kununurra, WA
Northern Impressions takes its audience on a rich visual journey through the Australian landscape and into Aboriginal ‘country’, where the intrinsic connection that the exhibiting artists have to land is given powerful visual form through the medium of printmaking. The exhibition celebrates the highlights of recent artistic collaborations between some of Australia’s most talented artists and professional printmakers working at Northern Editions at Charles Darwin University.
Northern Impressions showcases 53 limited edition prints by artists from across the Top End, Central Australia, Mornington and Bentinck Islands and Kimberley regions and reveals the beauty and diversity of artistic expression in these regions, each with their own distinct visual language. Produced with Northern Editions in Darwin since 2004, this selection of the printmaking studio’s finest prints will challenge and delight audience perceptions of the printmaking medium, displaying its limitless potential for collaborative virtuosity, technical excellence and luminous colour.
An iconic Northern Territory art institution, Northern Editions is well known locally and nationally for the limited edition fine art prints it produces. The Northern Editions team of printmakers have been collaborating with Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to produce fine art prints since 1993, with the printmaking workshops they hold often taking place in remote communities as well as at the Darwin studio. Together, printmakers and artists have collaborated to create prints that celebrate the strength, beauty and diversity of printmaking in northern Australia.
Yiloga! - Tiwi Footy
Yiloga! is a exploration of football and it’s importance in the life of an Indigenous community.
This series of documentary style photographs deals with the place of footy in Tiwi culture and explores not only the Tiwi communities passion for the game of AFL Football but also it’s positive influence on life in the community.
The caliber of the footballers that have originated from the Tiwi Islands is remarkable; they have thrilled crowds with their sporting prowess, athleticism and style on the football field. This exhibition explores the links between sport, culture and art resonating deeply within the collective Australian psyche.
The colour and excitement of ‘footy’ is captured as well as some of the startling history of the islands over the last 5 years. Photographers Peter Eve and Monica Napper have worked collaboratively with the community to produce a remarkable work that endeavours to break down barriers and redress stereotypes.
Sport and life are inextricably linked in Australian culture and these images explore some of the cultural and social aspects of ‘yiloga’ and the prominent place of footy in the social network of the region referencing the tribal/clan alliances which form the basis of football on the Tiwi Islands. As Brother Pye once noted: “Football has unified people on the islands. They are all from different clans, but as soon as you pick a footy team they are all in it together.”
This exhibition is a striking reminder of the complexity of the country in which we live.
MULUWURRI (Magpie Geese)
School classroom being used as dressing room before the game.
Image: Peter Eve 2005
Artist: Dion Beasley
Title: Dangerous Dog 2008
Screenprint with wash, 625 x 825mm
Photo Credit: Angus Cameron
11 Feb 2011 - 3 April 2011
Adelaide Fringe Festival
Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Kaurna Country
Available for further touring 2010 -2011
PDF Download
A Dog's Life - Dion Beasley
Many people will be familiar with Dion’s work from the Cheeky Dog tee shirts that cover the backs of many Northern Territorians and tourists alike. Dion Beasley is a 17 year old Indigenous artist from Canteen Creek near Tennant Creek in the N.T. Dion was born profoundly deaf and has muscular dystrophy. With his friend and mentor Joie Boulter, Dion has been producing Cheeky Dog images for tee shirts and bags for a number of years. This exhibition sees a whole new side to Dion’s work.
Ten large limited edition hand coloured prints give a humorous and astute observation of the community life of Canteen Creek’s camp dogs and introduces several new characters. The works were printed at Julalikari Arts in Tennant Creek under the guidance of Alan Murn.
These works captivate and delight and highlight the wonderful contribution artists with disabilities make to our cultural and artistic life. Murn says “The works on print are more than very, very good drawings of dogs. Dion’s line work is very confident and very skilful. His use of space that he works within is very clever, and his perspectives and perceptions are highly developed for someone without any training.”
REPLANT: a new generation of botanical art
Supported by Nomad Art Productions, NT Government, the Australia Council, Wildlife in the Northern Territory and Artback NT
Replant is a ground breaking exhibition which straddles boundaries between science and art.
The exhibition reinvestigates botanical drawings through its six diverse and renowned Australian artists: Fiona Hall (SA), Judy Watson (QLD), Winsome Jobling (NT), Deborah Wurrkidj (NT), Marita Sambono (NT), Irene Mungatopi (NT) and photographer Peter Eve from the Northern Territory.
Working with the Northern Territory Herbarium, artists explored the scientific, cultural and social aspects of Indigenous plant species with traditional knowledge custodians from the Daly River region. Images were then developed as 26 limited edition etchings.
Touring nationally June 2008 - December 2011.
This exhibition is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.
| PDF Downloads |
| Location Map |
| Project Notes |
| Education notes |
| Catalogue Orders |
| Replant Tour Itinerary |
Image: Black Plum
Artist: Deborah Wurrkidj 2006
Photo: Courtesy of Nomad Art