Tangentyere Artists

    Tangentyere Artists

    Established in 2005, Tangentyere Artists is an Aboriginal owned, not-for-profit enterprise for Town Camp Artists. 

    When Tangentyere Artists began, Jukurrpa Artists, Warumpi and Sandover Arts (all art centres previously operating in Alice Springs) had closed. Irrkerlanyte Arts and Ngurratjuta Iltja Ntjarra were servicing a limited number of Town Camp families. Tangentyere Artists was established with the express aims of combatting the prevalence of carpetbaggers, providing professional and career development opportunities to artists and operating an industry best practice enterprise. 

    As M. Kemarre Turner OAM noted in the catalogue for our first major exhibition in 2006:

    "There are many carpetbaggers around these days. They are dividing the community by taking away the best artists…Carpetbaggers don’t respect copyright laws. The carpetbaggers aren’t supportive of artists’ careers, they pick up and drop artists as they choose. We want to stop that. Having art in the Town Camps is really good, because the artists can keep control of their own work. This is the best approach, the way Tangentyere Artists is doing it. "
    Today, Tangentyere Artists is the central hub for arts activities across the Town Camps. This includes the internationally renowned Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, located at Larapinta Town Camp. We work to a studio, gallery and outreach program, supporting emerging and established artists. 

    Tangentyere Artists also welcome Aboriginal artists visiting town from remote communities, offering an open and safe environment where people from across Central Australia can sit down together to create artworks and share artistic skills as well as stories. Tangentyere Artists is committed to innovative, sustainable, fine art outcomes for Town Camp Artists. We are renowned for figurative paintings, diversity of mark making, rich colour palettes and embracing traditional and contemporary Aboriginal art making. Our practice includes short animations.

    Through their art, Town Camp artists communicate stories about their families, identity and everyday lives. Their contemporary art practice aims to show the everyday experience of Aboriginal people in Central Australia and through this work Tangentyere Artists have become part of the national conversation on reconciliation. 
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    Yarrenyty Arltere Artists

    ‘We have been working for many years doing our art. Working hard. When we sew, the stress can calm down. The art room is a place for us to talk, tell stories and to just keep going.’ 
    Marlene Rubuntja
    Yarrenyty Arltere Artists is a vital place for the community of Yarrenyty Arltere Town Camp in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). It is the vibrant beating heart of the small but dynamic Town Camp, comprising of Arrernte, Luritja, Warlpiri and Pitjantjara families. It is a place where people make art, work out problems, look after family and plan for their future. 

    Established in 2000 as a response to the chronic social issues the community were facing at that time, it has now, after many years of hard work and love, become an internationally recognized Art Centre. The beautiful soft sculptures that the Centre is renowned for, made from recycled bush dyed blankets, stitched and embellished, are held in major public and private collections across Australia and Internationally. Every year the Yarrenyty Arltere Artists work to a demanding exhibition and event schedule. Twice they have won the NATSIAA 3-D art award at MAGNT (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory). In 2018 Yarrenyty Arltere Artists were exhibiting artists in the 21st Sydney Biennial at the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). 

    Working in soft sculptures, textiles, etchings and film this vibrant Art Centre has given opportunity, voice and income to people that too often find themselves marginalized. 
    Rich in personality and defiance, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists continues to be shaped by the artists and community that hold it so strongly and proudly as their own. 

    Ewyenper Atwatye Artists

    Ewyenper Atwatye is the Central Arrernte place name for Hidden Valley, and the chosen name for the textile enterprise established by the community of Hidden Valley Town Camp in 2015. It is a satellite project of Tangentyere Artists. Each year, Tangentyere Artists run workshops in collaboration with the community, and out of these workshops new designs are released at Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair in August and Desert Mob in Alice Springs every September. The products are highly covetable and as such now retail through other outlets including the MCA Store in Sydney and the AGSA Store in Adelaide.

    All Ewyenper Atwatye Artists’ products are ethically produced on high quality, natural fabrics. Sales directly support Ewyenper Atwatye, with the profit returning to artist fees and investment in future projects. The 2015 Bush Car Take You Everywhere tshirt has become iconic and synonymous with the project. It embodies the bold use of image and incorporation of text for which Ewyenper Atwatye Town Camp designs has become renowned. In 2019 the Ewyenper Atwatye mob made their first foray into fashion at ‘From Country to Couture’ in Darwin. Tim McNamara’s Initi design appeared on model Magnolia Maymuru in Vogue Australia, and was also worn by Tangentyere Council staff member Shirleen Campbell when nominated for the Northern Territory Australian of the Year Awards. Watch this space! 

    Check out the latest public service announcement videos about COVID safety designed by Ewyenper Atwatye Artists here. 
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