Introducing Yarn Partner Art Centre: Warlukurlangu Artists
Artists and staff at Warlukurlangu Artists, Yuendumu. Image Courtesy of Warlukurlangu Artists, 2021.
We are very excited to introduce you to our first art centre partner: Warlukurlangu Artists. Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation is a non for profit organisation that is 100% Indigenous-owned by artists from the remote desert communities of Yuendumu and Nyirripi in Central Australia. The art centre provides these communities with a much needed source of economic independence as well as overall community support. They focus on promoting the maintenance of local Indigenous culture by producing beautiful art that is sold nationally and internationally. Yarn collaborates with Warlukurlangu Artists through creating products that feature their gorgeous artworks.
Keep your eyes peeled for Yarn’s inhouse brand Aneura and it’s upcoming collection created in collaboration with Warlukurlangu Artists.
Paintings waiting to be photographed at Warlukurlangu Artists, Yuendumu. Image Courtesy of Warlukurlangu Artists, 2021.
Warlukurlangu Artists are renowned for their unique artistic style. They produce gloriously colourful acrylic paintings and unique limited edition prints. Their artworks are predominantly about local Dreaming stories which are depicted through the use of iconography. Every painting is sold with a certificate of authenticity which includes an in-depth description of the artwork’s story and as well as the artist's details. These records serve as a valuable cultural resource as they record Dreaming stories and the traditional knowledge of the local artists. Warlukurlangu art centre is proud of its painting and story archive as it serves as an important form of cultural continuation; a way of traditional knowledge being passed onto future generations.
Warlukurlangu art centre provides an incredibly important form of economic empowerment for the Yuendumu community. They link the local talented artists with galleries, buyers and businesses such as Yarn who collaborate with the artists to create unique products. Warlu provides services including the supply of materials, assistance with production, marketing and, of course, distribution of the artists’ paintings and crafts nationally and internationally. The centre has been featured in hundreds of exhibitions and publications in Australia and around the world. They pride themselves on being a very inclusive community-based organisation. They not only strongly support their artists but also the artists’ families and the surrounding community.
Dorothy Napurrurla Dickson painting at Warlukurlangu Artists,Yuendumu. Image courtesy of Warlukurlangu Artists, 2021.
Warlukurlangu Artists’ support of the local community is extensive. Over the years they have contributed funds to the community swimming pool, Kurdu Kurdukurlangu Childcare Centre and Shalom Gamaroda Scholarship Fund, which supports Indigenous students studying for a variety of medical and health related degrees at University of NSW. An important community based program that they run is their Healthy Dog Program. As you can see in many of these photos dogs form an important part of the local community, many people think of their ‘Jarntu’ or ‘Maliki’ (dogs) as family. The program involves feeding hungry dogs, managing ticks, and caring for sick and abandoned dogs. They also fund vets to visit the community to sterilise dogs and treat them for various diseases. To fund these initiatives artists create gorgeous hand painted metal dogs. Each shape is based on a real dog in Yuendumu. Inmates at Alice Springs prison cut the metal dogs which are then sent to Yuendumu for our artists to paint. You can find out more about the program here and you can check the beautiful metal dogs here.
Image Courtesy of Warlukurlangu Artists, 2021.
Yarn is proud to be partnered with an art centre that does so much important work within their community. We can’t wait to launch our new Aneura range which will feature many of Warlu’s gorgeous artworks. In the future we will be partnering with many more art centres so that we can both support these remote communities and also showcase their incredibly diverse range of artistic styles that exist within different localities all around Australia.
To view some of Warlu’s incredible artworks and find out more about what they are currently up to you can check out their website here and Instagram here.