AMATA WOMEN: COLLABORATIVES & PAINTINGS

'Our art centre is full of artists. We may all have different styles, use different techniques, materials or colours but what underpins all our paintings is the same - it is our country and our tjukurpa. My paintings are of my country and our stories. Some parts are so special that they need to be covered. My paintings often look like clouds. They cover the landscape, revealing only the parts that can be told.' - Nyunmiti Burton -

The senior women of Amata in the APY Lands of Australia have long had a drive to create an acclaimed artistic hub in their homeland. They founded a women's art centre in the late 1990's, which was later renamed Tjala Arts, to reflect the growing involvement of men in the Amata art scene. The centre is now a leader in the Western Desert art movement and the Amata 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 the Art Gallery of South Australia. 

Short St Gallery invites you to view the intricate and rich artworks from Amata Women, Wawiriya Burton, Nyunmiti Burton, Freda Brady, Janie lewis and Barbara Moore, together with a collection of amazing collaborative works. The exhibition takes a look at the diverse range in styles, vibrant mark making and rich colour palette of women's art from Amata. It further showcases the unique collaborative paintings that the women have become famous, particularly after the Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art commissioned a series of seven collaborative paintings in 2011. The collaborative paintings are as beautiful as they are an important part of the community. Senior artists work alongside each other filling individual parts of the story and teaching younger artists technique but most importantly culture. The paintings are imbued with the creation stories and country that are always at the forefront of the artist's minds.