Kapi Ungkupayi

Ivy, Jennifer, Roma and Tjawina have been interviewed for ABC Radio National about Kapi Ungkupayi! To hear the interview click HERE

For more info about Kapi Ungkupayi check out our exhibition blog HERE

Irrunytju Community says Wiya!

Roma and Tjawina travel to Melbourne for the Tarrawarra Biennial!

Back in June Roma, Tjawina, Rene and Evonne with 12 other artists from Blackstone and Kalka camped out with artist Fiona Hall for two weeks in country about 30kms from Wingellina Community in WA. They collaborated together to create a series of woven sculptures of Australian animal species which are threatened with extinction for The Tarrawarra Biennale, an exploration of masking, secrets and hidden narratives as psychological states. 

In addition to these sculptures is the work Alkawari (2014), inspired by a tjukurrpa story about a well-known mamu (spirit) figure from the Lands. Alkawari is a complex tjukurrpa story of covert activities underpinned by the uncanny notion that all is not as it seems.

Tjawina and Roma had a grand adventure travelling to the opening in August and now they think you should go check it out too! The Exhibition runs till 16 November at TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria.

photo by Jo Foster

Kurunitja! Marge and Toni

Marge came to The Minyma Kutjara Arts Project from the Tjanpi Hospital in Warakurna about two years ago with a couple of old friends to retire. 

They were happy enough but Marge still had big dreams for her life. She kept quiet about it until one day in June a friendly face walked through the doors of the art centre. As soon as Toni and Marge spotted each other they knew they were soulmates (kurunitja). They were chatting away within seconds in their own private language and Toni knew immediately that she had to take Marge with her on a new adventure. Toni was very concerned that Marge travelled in style so she made her a special custom designed carry case. 

First stop on their adventure was Surveyor General's Corner and then off to Beanie Festival in Alice Springs where they tried on some hats!

Who knows what in store next for Marge and Toni but whatever they do, they'll be doing it together!

Pukulpa takes off!

After Roma's "IRRUNYTJU" T-shirt gained a cult following (if you don't have one, why not?!"), everyone has been busy creating new products for our clothing line "Pukulpa". Colin Nelson (5yrs) designed our Irrunytju Tjitji (Kid) T-shirt, Roma designed our Pukulpa (Happy) T-shirt and everyone has been busy painting shoes, caps and belts. And did you see the new Irrunytju Warrior Guernsey's?! (see below) They'll all be available at the Desert Mob Market place in September but if you can't wait that long, send us an email to: minyma.kutjara@gmail.com

New Football Guernseys for Irrunytju Warriors!

This season the Irrunytju Warriors are proudly wearing their new guernseys designed by Minyma Kutjara's youngest artists, Delissa Ryder. If you're a fan you can order one too by emailing us at minyma.kutjara@gmail.com $60 each + postage and packaging.

Artist in Residency - Desert Oak Studio, Yulara

In December we enjoyed a month long residency at The Desert Oak Studio in Ayers Rock Resort. Our artists Diane Dawson, Rene Nelson, Heather Watson, Roma Butler and Iluwanti O'Byrne worked each day in the gallery from 9-3pm, chatting and sharing their stories with visiting tourists while they painted. 

In the afternoons we enjoyed relaxing on the grass watching the Wakagetti Cultural Dancers or taking drives around Uluru to visit our family in Mutijulu.

Many thanks to Terese Cooke and all the gallery staff who worked so hard promoting our work and keeping us well fed!

MInyma Kutjara recieves $12,000 grant!

We are very excited to announce just we have just received notification that our application to the Department of Culture and the Arts for an Indigenous Arts Grant has been successful! We have been awarded a $12,000 grant for our "Kapi Ungkupayi" Project.

In January 2013 five senior anagnu women from The Minyma Kutjara Arts Project in Irrunytju and Papulankutja Arts in Blackstone went out bush looking for punu (wood for carving) and ran out of petrol. They had no water or food and weren’t found for five days. They survived on five perentie (goanna) and water their dug for along a dry riverbed.

We will be working together with Papulankutja Artists, Ngaanyatjarra Media and The Tjanpi Desert Weavers to create a unique exhibition, a strong visual and sensory experience where people can feel, smell, touch, taste. An exhibition using a wide range of multi-arts including painting, punu, tjanpi, sound recording and film. A very raw and earthy experience that touches all your senses: to feel fear, to smell bush, to touch grass and to see though the eyes  of an anagnu woman.

This is our modern day Minyma Kutjara story.

Minyma Kutjara on NITV!

Ngaanyatjarra Media has produced a documentary called "The Language of Art" about The Minyma Kutjara Arts Project that is now screening on NITV!
 

Language of Art Vimeo from Ngaanyatjarra Media on Vimeo.

In April, 2013 the NITV REGIONAL, REMOTE & EMERGING INITIATIVE was launched providing an opportunity for emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers and Media Organisations to show us stories form their communities and show our audience a slice of life from our communities around Australia. Two months later, we want to share the results: 15 minutes of new Indigenous content, six days a week for 20 weeks, on our screen.  

A landmark television initiative of mini documentaries broadcasted on NITV weeknights from 6.30pm and on weekends at 7:00pm. Creating digital song-lines to share stories of our life, our history, our elders, our communities, our events, our youth and our cultures.

A face lift for Ngaanyatjarra Media's film studio!

 

Minyma Kutjara Artists Rene Nelson, Roma Butler and Ivy Laidlaw have just finished installing their three large canvases for the new look Ngaanyatjarra Media Film Studio.

"The painting capture the stories and history of the NG lands and inspire creativity inside the film studio!" - Phillip Williams NG Meida  Film/TV Coordinator.

Minyma Kutjara @ Maraku Arts

Minyma Kutjara are excited to be now represented by Maruku @ Uluru.  So... next time you're visiting Ayres Rock(!) drop into the Maruku Gallery and Retail Store in the Cultural Centre at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, NT.

http://www.maruku.com.au/
 
Artists we have represented this month are: Ivy Laidlaw, Eva Baker, Alison Watson, Heather Watson, Maisie Nelson, Prudence Anderson, Delissa Ryder, Nancy Young, Evonne Lewis, Yaritji Heffernan Norma Byrant and Roma Butler.

Paintings pictured by Roma Butler (left) and Heather Watson (right)

Desert Mob 2013

 

The Minyma Kutjara Artists were buzzing this year at Desert Mob after re-joining Desart in July, back in the family!

More photos on our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/minyma.arts

To view the exhibition online go to:

http://www.desart.com.au/galleries/category/desertmob/

Pukulpa - Happy Pants!

At The Minyma Kutjara Arts Project we are busy working on a new enterprise called "Pukulpa", meaning HAPPY!

Our artists are creating a range of hand painted one-off designer jeans. This means that no one will have a pair exactly the same as yours!

The jeans will be available from December and will be exhibited as part of our residency at The Desert Oak Studio, Ayers Rock Resort.

To keep up to date on all the development of this exciting project, like us on our new PUKULPA FACEBOOK page!

To pre-order your own pair email us at: pukulpa@gmail.com

New Irrunytju T-shirts & Postcards

Check out our new t-shirts and postcards designed by Minyma Kutjara artist Roma Butler. Order yours now by emailing us at minyma.kutjara@gmail.com
 
Postcards $1 each Tshirts $25 each plus postage and packaging.

Desart Members!

We are excited to announce that we are now members of Desart! We are looking forward to working with them as we grow as an art and can't wait for Desert Mob, their annual festival in Alice Springs in September.

How to make your own belt?!

 

Monday last week may have been a public holiday, but it was a busy day in our art centre. Leslie and Rick Allen (Ng Council, Dept of Development & Training) came to teach us all about leather making.

The really exciting thing about this day was that it was the first time since we have been re-opened that the young men in Irrunytju have worked in our art centre. We hope they will come again!

Everyone who participated in the one day workshop learnt hand stitching techniques and by the end of the day had made a belt for themselves. We are very thankful to our CDEP Trainer, Chris Pickering for organizing this day and look forward to Rick and Leslie coming later in the year for more workshops. 

Pottery Week!

For the last two weeks we have been enjoying the company of Adelaide-based ceramic artist, Sunshine March. She has been teaching us about simple pottery techniques for making wira (bowls). Everyone had a go! We made a pit fire for firing our wira but we are also going to enjoy it on cold desert days!!

More photos on our "What's on" page.

Artist Profile - Coralie Peterman

 

Coralie Peterman is an artist belonging to the Pitjantjatjara language and cultural group. She was born in 1965 at Mt Davis, near Piplaytjarra SA.  Coralie grew up here in Irrunytju where she remembers going out hunting and for picnics with her family.

"We always go hunting, walking around and looking around for rabbits and goanna out bush...over that way. We went, my mother and father and all our family so we could have a good feed. We would camp for the night or two nights then come back home here to Irrunytju. All the white fellas were over there at the mine and we didn't know what they were doing."

She comes to the art centre with her daughter Noelene and her three grandchildren - Deandra, Bernadette and Anna and they all paint together.