![Injalak Hill April 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Injalak_Hill_April_2014.jpg)
Injalak Arts (also known as Injalak Arts and Crafts) is a non-profit, community owned
Aboriginal art centre located in
Gunbalanya
Gunbalanya (also spelt Kunbarlanja, and historically referred to as Oenpelli) is an Aboriginal Australian town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwi ...
in
West Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...
in the Northern Territory of Australia. It was incorporated in 1989. It is known for artists working in a primarily figurative style, and continuing and developing the West Arnhem
rock art
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
tradition. It is also known for pandanus weavings. Artists are mostly
Kunwinjku
The Kunwinjku (formerly written Gunwinggu) people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer t ...
people; however, artists from many language groups across Arnhem Land are represented. While working within the continuous art history of the Arnhem region, Injalak Arts is part of the wider contemporary Aboriginal Art movement, which has made a large impact on the Australian and international art world.
History
Development of the market
The demand for art and artefacts from the
Gunbalanya
Gunbalanya (also spelt Kunbarlanja, and historically referred to as Oenpelli) is an Aboriginal Australian town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwi ...
area began long before the incorporation of Injalak Arts and Crafts. Since early European contact, several notable collections were created and much informal trade took place. The anthropologist
Baldwin Spencer visited Gunbalanya in 1912 in his role as Special Commissioner for Aboriginals and Chief Protector, staying with Paddy Cahill, the founder of the cattle station in Gunbalanya. He collected many
bark paintings and fibre works, and Cahill continued to send him new works for the collection until around 1922. The
American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land arrived in Gunbalanya in October 1948, and its leader
Charles Mountford
Charles Pearcy Mountford OBE (8 May 189016 November 1976) was an Australian anthropologist and photographer. He is known for his pioneering work on Indigenous Australians and his depictions and descriptions of their art. He also led the Americ ...
commissioned many paintings on bark. However, for him, as for Spencer, these were still ethnographic rather than art objects, a practice “comparable with that of our stone-age ancestors of Europe”. Both the year before and the year after the Mountford expedition, the area was visited by the anthropologists
Ronald M. and
Catherine H. Berndt of the Australian National Research Council, working for Professor
A.P. Elkin of Sydney University. They too created a notable collection.
The market for Kunwinjku art began to expand from the late 1950s, largely thanks to major purchases by government institutions. The major collectors included Dorothy Bennett and Dr Scougall for the
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
(1959-1966), the anthropologist Karel Kupka for the
Basel Ethnographic Museum (1960),
Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...
(1963),
Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie The Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie (National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania) was a museum formerly located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes at 293, avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissem ...
(1963), and his private collection (now held at the
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
), as well as
Helen Groger-Wurm for the
Darwin Museum and the
Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...
(1965–70).
From the 1962 to 1974, the
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
(CMS) marketed the “art and crafts” of Arnhem Land, selling them through a dedicated outlet in Sydney. The fourth "classic" collection of art from Gunbalanya was gathered mostly through this source, by the Australian
Aboriginal Arts Board
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
. By the 1970s, visiting collectors and casual visitors also comprised a ready market for West Arnhem Land art.
Beginnings of Injalak Arts and Crafts
The history of Injalak Arts began with a screenprinting group started in 1986. In that year, a representative of the
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...
scheme visited Gunbalanya with funding for people to participate. Wendy Kennedy, a teacher who came to Gunbalanya in 1974, had in 1983 accepted a position as adult educator in Gunbalanya. She and a group of her students decided on trying screenprinting for the 'hobby' element required by the award. The screenprinter Ray Young was hired to assist, and with the women sewing, they were soon producing printed fabric, bags, calico skirts, baby wraps, nappies and singlets. A number of the original participants in the Duke of Edinburgh's award, including Gabriel Maralngurra and Donna Nadjamerrek, are still involved in Injalak Arts to the present day, having become leaders within the organisation.
In 1988, the men of the group moved from the adult education centre to a shed near the community council office (the shed is now known as the old
CDEP workshop). Around this time, the printers began moving away from generic figurative designs to designs influenced by the traditional style and subject matter of West Arnhem Land art. This raised the attention of elders and traditional custodians of the designs such as
Lofty Bardayal Nadjamerrek. But while this could have led to conflict, it slowly developed into a system of cultural protocols around commercial painting still in play at Injalak today.
The screenprinting group caught the attention of the Commonwealth Government's Community Development program, which was keen to promote local business. In 1986–87, discussions and consultations were held about expanding the operations of the group to become an art centre trading a range of artistic media. This was in the context of the rapidly expanding Aboriginal Art movement at the time. In 1988, the screenprinting group successfully applied for $500,000 in funding from the Commonwealth Government, which led to the building of the Injalak Art Centre where is stands today. It was incorporated on 12 April 1989.
Development of the Art Centre
Art production picked up quickly following the creation of the new building. Screenprinting and sewing continued, and painting and weaving (primarily
pandanus
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...
weaving) increased dramatically. Wendy Kennedy stayed on until 1990, before handing over interim management to the screenprinter Ray Young. The first appointed manager, Felicity Wright, arrived in October 1991. Critical in the early days of the art centre was the senior painter Thompson Yulidjirri (d. 2009), who mentored the younger artists and developed Injalak as a place for the transmission of cultural knowledge outside the traditional venues. Felicity Wright stayed on as manager until 1995, a time which saw increasing recognition for Gunbalanya artists. Samuel Namundja won the
National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award
The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is Australia's longest running Indigenous art award. Established in 1984 as the National Aboriginal Art Award by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darw ...
in the bark painting category in 1993.
A series of managers between 1995 and 2001 included Andrew Headley, Matthew Johnson, Anthony Murphy and Paul Magin, until Anthony Murphy took up the position full-time again in January 2001. Anthony Murphy remained as manager until 2010. Lorna Martin arrived in August 2009 and remained as manager until December 2012. In December 2012 Injalak's first manager, Felicity Wright, returned and currently shares managerial responsibilities with Gabriel Maralngurra and Isaiah Nagurrgurrba (2014).
Cultural tourism
Since its inception, Injalak has been involved in
cultural tourism
Cultural tourism is a type of tourism activity in which the visitor's essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the tangible and intangible cultural attractions/products in a tourism destination. These attractions/produ ...
, facilitating tours of nearby Injalak Hill. Injalak Hill is an important Aboriginal rock art site located just one kilometre from the art centre across the floodplain, or about a four kilometre drive via the main roads.
History of tourism at Injalak
Injalak artists have acted as guides of Injalak Hill since the opening of the art centre in 1989. Injalak Hill tours began as informal service, with tourists hiring artists as guides for rates often organised on the day. In 1992, a five-year plan for the art centre was formulated, with the Aboriginal governing body of Injalak expressing the desire to formally promote cultural tourism. The main reasons highlighted were to facilitate the understanding of Kunwinjku art and culture, and to generate work and income.
As demand increased, tourists began to book in advance, and eventually by the dry season of 2000, about 10-15 tours were leaving the art centre for Injalak Hill each week.
Artists
Current artists
*Graham Badari
*
Gabriel Maralngurra
Gabriel Maralngurra (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Ngalangbali clan in West Arnhem Land. He is well-known and respected within his community for the wide range of responsibilities he takes on. His artwork is displayed in ...
*Glen Namundja
*Ezariah Kelly
*Joey Nganjmirra
*
Joe Guymala
*Maath Maralngurra
*Alicia Mardday
*Anne Gumurdul
*Isaiah Nagurrgurrba
*Garry Djorlom
*Don Namundja
*Jill Nganjmirra
*Lawrence Nganjmirra
*Thommo Nganjmirra
Notable deceased artists associated with Injalak Arts
*England Banggala
*Peter Nabarlambal
*
Bardayal 'Lofty' Nadjamerrek
*Jimmy Kalariya Namarnyilk
*
Bobby Nganjmirra
*Robin Nganjmirra
*
Thompson Yulidjirri
*Ganbaladj Nabegeyo
*
Wanurr Bob Namundja
Media
Artists work within a range of media, prescribed by tradition and subsequent new media fostered by the art centre.
*
Bark painting in both
ochre
Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
s and acrylics
*Paintings on
Arches paper Arches paper is a brand of air-dried paper that is used by printers and watercolorists. It has a warm white colour and is produced in hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough varieties. Arches paper is made in the village of Arches in the Vosges, France ...
in both ochres and acrylics
*
Etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s
*Woven, knotted and coiled works from
pandanus
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...
, including baskets, mats, dilly bags and
sculptural works
*Knotted fibre bags, made from
kurrajong bark and
Livistona humilis
''Livistona humilis'', the sand palm, is an Australian plant species of the family Arecaceae. It is a small, slender palm, growing to about 7 m tall and 5–8 cm dbh. It has 8 to 15 fan-shaped leaves, 30–50 cm long with petiole ...
palm leaves
*
Mako (Didgeridoos)
*Items of traditional culture such as
Clapstick
Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony ...
s,
spear throwers
A spear-thrower, spear-throwing lever or ''atlatl'' (pronounced or ; Classical Nahuatl, Nahuatl ''ahtlatl'' ) is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in Dart (missile), dart or javelin-throwing, and includes a Plain bearing, b ...
and
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s
*
Screen printed fabrics
*Carvings, including
Mimih Spirit carvings
*Jewellery items such as earrings and necklaces, made using pandanus, seeds (commonly
Adenanthera pavonina
''Adenanthera pavonina'' is a perennial and non-climbing species of leguminous tree. Its uses include food and drink, traditional medicine, and timber.
Common names and synonyms
''Adenanthera pavonina'' is commonly called Red Lucky Seed. Ot ...
) and sometimes bones.
Access
![Kakadu 2403](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Kakadu_2403.jpg)
The accessibility of
Gunbalanya
Gunbalanya (also spelt Kunbarlanja, and historically referred to as Oenpelli) is an Aboriginal Australian town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwi ...
via road is determined by the level and flow of the
East Alligator River
Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia ...
. Cahill's Crossing, about 16 km from Gunbalanya, may be impassable during the wet season or towards high tide. In the dry season, from May to October, the road is generally passable, though visitors are advised to check tide times and consult with Kakaku National Park or the art centre. Depending on the year, the river is often also passable in April, November and early December.
Visitors are required to acquire a permit from the
Northern Land Council
The Northern Land Council (NLC) is a land council representing the Aboriginal peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia, with its head office in Darwin.
While the NLC was established in 1974, its origins began in the strugg ...
in
Jabiru
The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has been reported as far north as Mississippi. ...
or
Darwin to enter Arnhem Land. For day visitors, these permits are generally issued on the spot. However the offices are closed on weekends so visitors may need to plan ahead. Occasionally weather conditions, ceremonial events or funerals may result in permits not being issued, so visitors are advised to contact the Northern Land Council in advance.
The turnoff to Cahill's Crossing is on the
Arnhem Highway
The Arnhem Highway is a 227—kilometre highway in the Northern Territory of Australia. It links the mining town of Jabiru, in Kakadu National Park, to the Stuart Highway at a point 35 kilometres south of Darwin.
Upgrades
The Northern Aus ...
just before Jabiru. The road is tarred between the highway and Cahill's Crossing, and dirt between the crossing and just before Gunbalanya. The drive from Jabiru to the art centre takes around 60 minutes. Visitors are free to travel to the art centre via private vehicle, and there are also a range of tour companies which include Injalak Arts on their itinerary. Gunbalanya also has a sealed all-weather airstrip,
Oenpelli Airport, and charter flights are available from Jabiru year-round. Gunbalanya Air Charters also provides transport between the airport and the town in both Gunbalanya and Jabiru.
References
Further reading
*Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council, ''Oenpelli Bark Painting'', Ure Smith, 1979
*Carroll, Peter John, ''Bark Art from Western Arnhem Land : Kunwinjku Dolobbo Bim, Bark Art from Injalak,'' Northern Territory Anglican Foundation for the Promotion of Aboriginal Art and Literature, 2010
*Dyer, Christine Adrian (ed.), ''Kunwinjku Art from Injalak 1991-1992: The John W. Kluge Commission,'' Museum Art International, 1994
*Hamby, Louise (ed.), ''Twined Together: Kunmadj Njalehnjaleken'', Injalak Arts and Crafts, 2005
*McLeod, Neil (ed.), ''Kunwinjku Spirit: Creation Stories from Western Arnhem Land'', Melbourne University Press, 1997
*Newstead, Adrian, ''The Dealer is the Devil: An Insider's History of the Aboriginal Art Trade'', Brandl & Schlesinger, 2014
*Taylor, Luke, ''Seeing the Inside: Bark Painting in Western Arnhem Land'', Oxford University Press, 1996
*Wright, Felicity, ''The Arts and Crafts Centre Story, Vol 1: a Survey of 39 Aboriginal Community Art and Craft Centres in Remote Australia Undertaken by Desart Inc'', Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Commission, 1999
*Wright, Felicity, ''The Arts and Crafts Centre Story, Vol 3: Good stories from out bush: Examples of best practice from Aboriginal art and craft centres in remote Australia'', Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Commission, 2000
Further viewing
*''Cracking the Colour Code: A visual exploration of how we view colours, how we make them, and the meanings they hold in our world'', dir. Hugh Piper, Electric Pictures and Gedeon Programmes, in assoc. SBS Television, Arte France et al., 2008.
*''Knowledge, Painting and Country'', dir. Andrea & Peter Highlands, Creative Cowboy Films, 2011
*''Rock Art and Yingana: A walk up Injalak Hill'', dir. Andrea & Peter Highlands, Creative Cowboy Films, 2011
*''The brush sings: Injalak – an aboriginal art centre'', dir. Andrea & Peter Highlands, Creative Cowboy Films, 2011
External links
* {{official, http://www.injalak.com/
Australian art movements
Australian Aboriginal art
Australian artist groups and collectives
Artist cooperatives
Arnhem Land
Cooperatives in Australia