Fitzroy Crossing Art

The small town of Fitzroy Crossing is located on the Fitzroy River, at the southern edge of the Kimberley, WA. In the last 30 years, Fitzroy Crossing has emerged as one Australia’s most unique artistic regions. The Fitzroy Valley is home to five different language groups: the Bunuba, Gooniyandi, Nyikina, Wangkatjunka and Walmajarri peoples. As such, the culture and art of the area is incredibly diverse. Many artists who have emerged from this area have become world-renowned, their works being showcased in national and international exhibitions (Japingka Aboriginal Art, 2021). 

Fitzroy Crossing is the regional hub for the south east Kimberley. The traditional owners of the area are the Bunuba and Gooniyandi people. However, today the region features a number of other language groups from desert regions including the Walmajarri and Wangkatjungka people, and Nyigina people from the west. These groups moved in from the Great Sandy Desert to work on cattles stations. The Fitzroy River is surrounded by vast flood plains that provide perfect pastoral land for cattle stations. In the late 1960s and 70s the town itself was transformed when people moved in from the region's cattle stations to live on the fringes of the small outpost settlement (Rebecca Hossack, 2021).

It was in the 1980s with the beginning of the contemporary Indigenous art movement that the artists of Fitzroy Crossing began to become well known. Art projects run by Karrayili Adult Education Centre and later Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency were established to facilitate educational and cultural growth. A strong, unique visual culture was developed drawing from the influences of the many different language groups. The art of the region is unique in its range of styles and techniques. These styles vary from traditional dot paintings to representational images of everyday life in the ‘station days’ and the present. These evocative artworks speak of country, everyday life and feature beautiful vibrant colours (Japingka Aboriginal Art, 2021).



The key art centre in the region is Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency, which began as a part of the Karrayili Adult Education Centre. Established in 1981 for local people who wanted to learn English, the art centre started as a small initiative led by the local men, providing artists with a space to paint their personal stories, bush trips and histories. The artists would sell the works from a small building constructed next to the highway, where travellers would buy the works directly from the artists. Today, the art centre is flourishing, and is now located in the centre of the Fitzroy Crossing township where there is an art gallery, specialty store and studio space for the artists. The centre and artists have been a part of a number of incredible collaborations, most notably with fashion brand Gorman in 2019. The exclusive Mangkaja x Gorman collection featured works by Mangkaja artists: Ngarralja Tommy May, Sonia Kurarra, Daisy Japulija, Mrs Rawlins and Ms Uhl. Proceeds from the collaboration funded a new youth development program at Fitzroy Crossing (Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency, 2021).

Some of the renowned artists to emerge from Fitzroy Crossing include: Jarinyanu David Downs, Jimmy Pike, Butcher Cherel, Peter Skipper, Stumpy Brown and Paji Honeychild. Walmatjarriman man Jimmy Pike (1940-2002) became one of Australia’s most famous Indigenous artists during the 1990s. Although Pike had to move away from his country to the Fitzroy Valley (as a part of the great exodus of desert people in the 1940s and 50s) he remained grounded by painting stories of his early life in the Great Sandy Desert. Pike’s works depicted the aura and power that surrounded the stories and places he depicted. His bold, saturated works contrasted to many of the desert artists at the time who painted with earthy colours. The artist garnered national and international attention, exhibiting his paintings and limited edition prints in countries such as  Tokyo, Berlin, Beijing and the USA. His artworks are also represented in Australian collections at the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Victoria and the Australian Museum (Japingka Aboriginal Art, 2021). 

‘Kurriny Piyirnkujarrra’, silkscreen print by Jimmy Pike. Courtesy of Japingka Aboriginal Art, 2021.

‘Jila Japingka’, silkscreen print by Jimmy Pike. Courtesy of Japingka Aboriginal Art, 2021.

Walmajarri man Jarinyanu David Downs (1925-1995) is another renowned artist from the Fitzroy region. Like Jimmy Pike, Downs was born in the Great Sandy Desert but spent most of his life in the Fitzroy Valley north of his homelands. All through the 1960’s and 70s, Downs made his first designs on traditional artefacts, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that he began painting. The stories behind his artworks drew heavily from his strong desert culture. Downs also painted many religious works, incorporating symbols from both Christian and traditional law practice of the desert. This Christian influence came from the United Aboriginal Mission who have worked with Indigenous people in Fitzroy Crossing since the 1950s. As a result, many desert lawmen and artists have close ties to the church (Japingka Aboriginal Art, 2021).

Jarinyanu David Downs had a very successful career, having represented in many group exhibitions in the 1980s and 90s. Currently, his collection of visual artworks are held by the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Japingka Aboriginal Art, 2021).

Yapurnu’ (1989) by Jarinyanu David Downs. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria, 2021.

‘Men Dancing Wakaya’ (1987) by Jarinyanu David Downs. Courtesy of Deutscher and Hackett, 2021.

So, we can see that Fitzroy Crossing is a place with a unique history and a diverse mix of contemporary and traditional artistic influences and culture.Through painting, the First Nations peoples residing in Fitzroy Crossing reinforce the strength of their country and culture. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Fitzroy Crossing, check out the art centre in the township to see the beautiful artworks and prints in person!