The exhibition will be opened by Dr Kenneth Chern, The Consul General of the United States of America on Wednesday 7 July, 6-8pm

Dianne Robinson and Vicki Cullinan will be present, representing the exhibiting artists

Exploring a striking and diverse range of styles and approaches, the artists of Iwantja Arts constitute one of the burgeoning arts communities emerging from the Central Australian landscape.A small community of around 300 people, Iwantja, also known as Indulkana, is located in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in the northwest of South Australia – just west of the Stuart Highway and some 360 kilometres south of Alice Springs.

In the last few years an injection of new life has created a torrent of activity at Iwantja. With new artists joining the centre, and the arrival of a new and energetic arts coordinator, a flurry of painting activity has arisen. The artists have been determined to develop their own aesthetic, producing diverse and vibrant work without the overarching need to conform to a community style.

Peter Mungkuri, whose works shift from freeform, motive evocations of country to structured, muted strings of rockhole sites, is a paragon of this breathtaking diversity. Born in Fregon in 1946, Mungkuri has only been painting with serious purpose for just over a year, yet his work reflects the maturity of one who has spent his life on his traditional estate, where he worked as a cattleman.

Where the work of Mungkuri and his contemporaries exhibits an abiding connection to the sustaining and sacred sites of their lands, the work of the younger artists in the exhibition displays a greater concern for formal innovation, while still remaining immersed in the mapping conventions of their elders. Vicki Cullinan and Dianne Robinson, for instance, shift between richly embellished aerial landscapes to minimal and electrically charged near-abstract paintings, while Julie Yatjitja’s works show densely worked webs of connection within country.

The foundations of a community arts organisation were laid in the 1970s with the establishment of Indulkana Arts Association, a crowded communal enterprise focusing on craft-based activities such as woodcarving and batik. In the 1980s the centre became increasingly well known for its printmaking flair, transposing Dreaming motifs into monochrome designs. Inscribing lino blocks for printing became an essential leisure time activity throughout the community, taken up by elders as well as younger community members, and the resulting work was widely shown and collected.

In 1995, Iwantja Arts was established, moving into less cramped facilities and beginning to focus more on painting. With its community-based approach, and tending towards group exhibitions that represent the breadth of their country, the artists at Iwantja did not share in the first blush of art-world fame that swept the Western Desert at the beginning of the 21st century. Rather, their work continued to focus on their country and community, a source of diverse influences that has led to an untamed diversity of styles and approaches, amongst the various artists working at the centre but also within the oeuvre of individual artists.

With the arrival of this new generation of art from Iwantja, the APY lands look once again to be a source of some of the most exciting and interesting art being produced in Central Australia. That this is occurring amidst such a strong environment of cultural strength and historical connection is a signal of many great things still to come.

Indigenart – Mossenson Galleries proudly presents Western Australia’s first major survey exhibition from Iwantja Arts, Indulkana SA. This landmark exhibition features a selection of work from emerging artists, including Peter Mungkuri, Dianne Robinson, Julie Yatjitja, Alec Baker, Vicki Cullinan, and Rosalind Tjanyari, whose works explore the cultural knowledge and sacred history of their Anangu people.