The art of Papunya Tula Artists has maintained its natural ochre palette over its thirty five year history, these colours anchor the art in its traditional origins as the infinite abstractions of Western Desert country are displayed. Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd is one of the leading Aboriginal art centre in Australia, setting the quality and ethical benchmark for other centres, standing the test of time and producing a long list of international stars.

These artists include Makinti Napanangka, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Eileen Napaltjarri, Kutungka Napanangka, Warlangkura Napanangka (Uta,Uta’s widow), Narrabri Nakamarra, Patrick Tjungurrayi and Joesph Jurra Tjapaltjarri. The leading painters have in common a richness of cultural history and their own unique way of voicing this history. They are prophets of the desert showing the way for fellow artists, art centres and for the wider Indigenous community.

The main two Western Desert communities Papunya Tula services are Warlungurru and Kiwirrikurra. They are a six hour and eight hour four-wheel drive west of Alice Springs when the roads are good, after the rains it is anybody’s guess. These communities are some of the most isolated in all of Australia and display the most extreme conditions. The landscape stark in its beauty contains a surprising level of diversity. The Lurijta/Pintupi people who predominantly make up these communities reflect this paradoxical landscape. They have a richness, a wealth of spirit that is anchored by a practical toughness that has enabled then to survive in such a harsh country.

The success of art from Papunya Tula is based in its contemporary construction loaded with spiritual beliefs. The paintings are unique interpretations of a sacred land with an abstract modern sensibility. The artists expertly manipulate the layering of patterns to form aerial views of country. This layering of marks creates movement within the works, playing with perception and depicting the ancestral travel lines of these nomadic people. They have been drawing these maps of country in the sand for thousands of years, this is reflected in the works with these powerful interpretations of the desert. The Papunya Tula painting style derives directly from the artists' knowledge of traditional body and sand painting associated with ceremony. To portray these dreamtime creation stories for the public has required the removal of sacred symbols and the careful monitoring of ancestral designs.

Papunya Tula Artists has 49 Indigenous shareholders and over 120 artists. The company’s community work includes the contribution of a dialysis machine and a community pool to the community of Warlungurru.