Our Land, Our Place celebrates Aboriginal artists from across WA
Updated: 13 Sept 2019
Localista Team
Our Land, Our Place is an exhibition that showcases paintings from 8 Aboriginal art centres across Western Australia’s remote communities including the Kimberley and Pilbara regions.
A collaboration between the City of Perth and South Fremantle’s Artitja Fine Art Gallery, the exhibition opened during NAIDOC week at Perth’s Council House in July. Now in its final weeks, this is an unmissable opportunity to discover a diverse selection of Aboriginal artworks from across WA, right in the heart of Perth.
[gallery link="none" columns="2" size="large" ids="https://media.localista.com.au/2019/09/Margaret.jpeg|Wandjina Spirits by Margaret Rururlwala Puermora ,https://media.localista.com.au/2019/09/ourland.jpeg|Minyma Kutjarra (Two Sisters Travelling) by Julie Renita Woods"]
Paired with a selection of Aboriginal artworks covering the south west from the City of Perth Cultural Collections, Our Land, Our Place is a showcase of the huge talent and varied styles of over forty artists. The exhibition includes a slideshow presentation exploring the lives of Aboriginal artists working in remote communities, both in the studio and in country.
Anna Kanaris, Director of Artitja Fine Art Gallery, expressed: “The exhibition opened in NAIDOC week but with this year’s theme of Voice, Treaty, Truth, it is fitting that it is on display for longer; you could say as a reflection of those ongoing issues.”
“The paintings are very much about the voice of Aboriginal Australia and the themes about country and history, whether it be an ancestral story or depiction of the land. In themselves they are a great visual communicator” says Kanaris.
[gallery link="none" columns="2" size="large" ids="https://media.localista.com.au/2019/09/ourland2.jpeg|Star or Seven Sisters Dreaming by Athena Nangala Granites,https://media.localista.com.au/2019/09/Winifred-Nanala-120x80cm-Wilkinkarra-ART39419wn.jpg|Wilkinkarra by Winifred Nanala "]
Jewellery also features in the exhibition with the WA launch of the Indigenous Jewellery Project (IJP), Australia’s first and only national Indigenous contemporary jewellery project.
Based in Victoria the project’s founder Emily McCulloch Childs visited Perth for the launch. She has taken great steps towards establishing WA projects which will expand the platform of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jewellery artists, both within Australia and worldwide.
“This selling exhibition is a great way for lovers of art to get a good grasp of the different styles and themes of paintings produced in our State’s art centres, whether the medium is ochre or acrylic” says Kanaris.
“There will definitely be something for everyone, and there is always an educational aspect to our exhibitions.”
For those who have already seen the exhibition, it is worth a second visit as new and recently arrived paintings from several of the communities have been added. The exhibition will continue through to the end of September.