Iwantja Arts takes its name from the creek where the community of Indulkana first settled. A large native gum marks the resting place and dreaming site of the Tjurki (owl) and tells the story of his journey through country.
Iwantja Arts is a not for profit, Aboriginal owned and run corporation managed by a board of directors. It is located in the far north east of South Australia in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. It is about 400km south of Alice Springs close to the Stuart Highway.
The community was established in the nineteen sixties after the land was returned to the traditional owners. Many Anangu came to the live in the area after years of employment on neighbouring cattle stations as stockmen and station hands.
Initially the arts centre building was used as a community centre providing temporary accommodation for family groups and meals for students and elderly community members. The space was then transformed into a craft centre focusing on fabric dyeing, jewellery making, and tjanpi (spinifex grass) weaving. Iwantja Arts went on to develop a rich history of printmaking, with many of the first limited edition prints now held in the collections of the South Australian Museum and National Gallery of Australia.
Printmaking continues to be a fundamental art form, with studio artists producing work in both relief and intaglio mediums.
Today the art centre continues to support innovative studio artists working across a variety of mediums, encompassing both individual and collaborative contemporary arts practice. Artworks from Iwantja Arts are held in many private and public collections throughout Australia and internationally.
Below are the current artworks we have in the gallery from Iwantja Arts.
