Tjala Arts, formerly known as Minymaku Arts, is an
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...
-owned and -managed arts centre located in the remote community of
Amata
According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...
in the
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in the remote north-west of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
.
History
Tjala Arts was started by women from Amata in 1997 and was originally called Minymaku Arts (meaning "Women's Arts"), until it was renamed in 2006 to better reflect the increasing involvement of men in the operation of the centre. Tjala is the
Pitjantjatjara
The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are va ...
word for
honey ant
Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialised workers (repletes, plerergates, or rotunds) that are gorged with food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. Other ants then extract nourishment from them, through ...
, which is both a traditional
bush food
Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...
and one of the
creation stories
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop ...
for the Amata area.
Description
Tjala Arts supports and showcases the work of local artists, including work from the homelands surrounding Amata, in the
Musgrave Ranges
Musgrave Ranges is a mountain range in Central Australia, straddling the boundary of South Australia (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) and the Northern Territory ( MacDonnell Shire), extending into Western Australia. It is between the Grea ...
.
Tjala Arts prioritises cultural strength and ownership. The collective believes the power in the art is "not for sale" and not for interpretation without their permission. This ownership is important to maintaining and building cultural strength and generating job and income. As senior artist Frank Young said: "Nganampa Art Nganana walytjanguku Business palyanu. Munula Tjukurpa kunpu kanyini - Our Art. Our Business. Keeps our culture strong".
Tjala artists use a variety of mediums, including
acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. De ...
on linen, punu (wood), tjanpi (fibre weaving; often in conjunction with
Tjanpi Desert Weavers
Tjanpi Desert Weavers is a social enterprise of the NPY Women's Council, representing over 400 women from 26 unique communities in the NPY (Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara) region. Tjanpi is the Pitjantjatjara word for a type ...
) and new media arts including photography, film and sound work.
Tjala artists are known for their energetic work and rich colourful palette and, in their work, artists explore their
Tjukurpa
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his c ...
(Dreaming).
Tjala Arts is part of the
APY Art Centre Collective.
Tjala artists have been acquired by many high profile collectors and prestigious Australian cultural institutions including;
The National Gallery of Australia,
The Art Gallery of New South Wales,
The National Gallery of Victoria and
Art Gallery of South Australia.
Artists
Artists represented by, or previously represented by Tjala Arts include:
* Freda Brady
*
Hector Burton
Hector Tjupuru Burton (1937 - 27 February 2017) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. He is a leading artist from Amaṯa, in north-western South Australia. His work has been shown in exhibitions since 2003, in several cities in Australia and ot ...
*
Nyurpaya Kaika Burton
*
Wawiriya Burton
* Rhonda Dick
*
Ray Ken
*
Sandra Ken
* Sylvia Ken
*
Tjungkara Ken
*
Barbara Mbitjana Moore
*
Tiger Palpatja
*
Maringka Tunkin
*
Ruby Tjangawa Williamson
* Anwar Young
* Frank Young
*
Yaritji Young
References
Further reading
*
External links
* {{official, https://tjalaarts.com.au/about
Australian artist groups and collectives