We’re incredibly proud to introduce the Kip&Co x Ernabella Arts collaboration. Established in 1948, Ernabella Arts is Australia’s oldest continuously running Indigenous Art Centre, located in the Pukatja community.
The arts centre is one of the most artistically diverse in Australia, starting as a space for Anangu women to loom floor rugs and wall weavings, before becoming renowned for its batik. That spirit of independence, adaptation, creativity and transformation shines out across the community and the incredible seven artist whose art tells the ancestral stories of their beautiful country and culture.
This project has been two years in the making, and was created in close collaboration and with the generous support of the artists and community. We were lucky enough to spend time in Pukatja, together with our families, an experience we will honestly cherish for the rest of our lives.
The partnership between Kip&Co x Ernabella Arts is best practice, and one that sets a benchmark for future collaborations. Ernabella Arts and Kip&Co divide all profits from the collaboration equally, so 50% of profits will return to Ernabella Arts.
Alison Lionel
Alison has been painting at Ernabella Arts since she was a young girl and she now has four children of her own. Alison’s painting Likara is inspired by the light catching the shifts and wandering lines of the bark.
ARTWORK: LIKARA (BARK)
Carlene Thompson
Carlene is a senior artist and senior woman in the Ernabella community. Her works are often about tjulpu tjuta (birds). People call her Tjulpu Thompson, and she says ‘like I did with my children, I now raise chicks every day on canvas and in clay in my work’. Carlene’s painting Tjulpu Kulunypa – Baby Birds is an artwork about birds and their chicks.
ARTWORK: TJULPU KULUNYPA (BABY BIRDS)
Kalaya Ngura – Emu Country is Carlene’s second artwork in the collaboration and depicts Carlene’s family’s country. The emu (kalaya) is the ancestral being who formed that part of the country as it travelled from Kanypi to Watarru in the Western APY Lands.
ARTWORK: KALAYA NGURA (EMU COUNTRY)
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Langaliki Lewis
Langaliki is a highly skilled and creative painter and ceramicist. Langaliki’s painting Tjala Tjukurpa – Honey Ant Dreaming is of her father’s country. Tjala (honey ants) are a highly favoured food source and they are an important link between Anangu mythology and inter-dependence on the environment.
ARTWORK: TJALA TJUKURPA (HONEY ANT DREAMING)
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Lynette Lewis
Lynette is one of Ernabella’s leading artists and works across many mediums including canvas, ceramics and silver jewellery. Lynette’s design Wamikata Walka Tali – Sand Dune is inspired by the ripples created by wind in the sand at the large red sand dune named Warnikata near Ernabella. Wamikata is a popular place for looking for maku (witchetty grubs) and also for teaching milpatjunanyi (telling stories in the sand) to children.
ARTWORK: WAMIKATA WALKA TALI (SAND DUNE)
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Malpiya Davey
Malpiya has been creating paintings, ceramics and prints at Ernabella Arts for over twenty years. Her artwork Kalaya Tjukurpa – Emu Dreaming is Malpiya’s mother’s country near Kanypi on the APY Lands. The kalaya (emu) is the creation being that formed this land. Malpiya’s design is a depiction of the kalaya walking around looking for mai (food) and water in the rockholes.
ARTWORK: KALAYA TJUKURPA (EMU DREAMING)
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Michelle Lewis
Michelle is a rising star of the Ernabella Arts studio. Michelle’s painting Tjala (Honey Ant) Dreaming depicts how the tjala (honey ants) tunnel though the sandy soil. Women dig up the tjala and then suck the delicious rich honey-like liquid from their distended abdomen
ARTWORK: TJALA DREAMING (HONEY ANT)
Rupert Jack
Mr Jack is a senior artist and the community pastor. He divides his time between his homeland, a place named Racecourse, and Ernabella. Mr Jack’s painting Ngayuku Ngura – My Country is of his father’s country. It’s a sacred place for men only near Mimili. The different colours and designs represent variations in the landscape. He is also depicting looking for bush tucker such as maku (witchetty grub).
ARTWORK: NGAYUKU NGURA (MY COUNTRY)
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