We continue to curate exhibitions with the same care, attention to detail and thoughtful selection that have always underpinned our practice. Whether presenting paintings, ceramics or sculpture, every exhibition is developed in close collaboration with remote community art centres and with a commitment to ethical and respectful business practices. From the very beginning, education has been an integral part of every exhibition we present. We believe that understanding the stories, cultures and artists behind the works enriches the experience of viewing and collecting First Nations art, and we warmly welcome newcomers alongside experienced collectors. Our aim is to create a relaxed and welcoming environment where visitors feel comfortable taking their time, exploring the exhibition and asking questions. After all, that is how we learn. Whether you are visiting your first First Nations art exhibition or have been collecting for many years, we invite you to

Ahhh! Time moves to fast to keep to blogs regular! The Kaltjiti art centre guest Artists, Joyce Robin, Joanne Ken and Kani George have been and gone, and the WANGKA KUTJU, TJUKURPA TJUTA – One Voice, Many Sotires exhibition is about to end this coming Sunday 14th June! However, the e-catalogue will remain online for evermore, so it will still be viewable.

We are looking forward to WANGKA KUTJU, TJUKURPA TJUTA – One Voice, Many Stories – our next exhibition focussing entirely on the remote community of Fregon, in the Pitjantjatjara Lands – and the Kaltjiti Art Centre. Exhibitions looks beautiful once they are up, but there is much work to do to get them looking that way! From planning (up to twelve months prior, or more) to selection, receiving the ‘freight’ – once the paintings are carefully packed/rolled and put on a truck to travel the huge distance. Then it is up to us to give the artists’ hard work the best possible exposure and sale – to keep the wheels turning!

We missed out on the Emily Kame Kngwarreye time (sadly). Still undoubtedly Australia’s most significant female Indigenous artist, – whose paintings, story and life have had and continue to have such an impact internationally. We were lucky enough to meet one of the most beautiful, loved artists and senior ladies – Ada Bird Petyarre – one of the ‘seven sisters’ – most of whom became acclaimed artists in their own right. Painting Awelye (Women’s body paint) and their ancestral dreaming Mountain Devil Lizard, the Petyarre sisters, Kathleen, Nancy, Ada, Gloria, Violet, Jean and Myrtle. This pic was taken in 2004, it was such a treat sitting watching Ada paint. She was very special.

A little video of what happens when the art arrives from it’s remote location! And when you’ve had two missed deliveries, you have to go to the airport warehouse to pick the freight up… these all the way from Fregon in the Pitjantjatjara Lands…

I won’t go through all our close to eighty exhibitions since our first one, just the extra significant ones! Named DESERT DREAMINGS it was held at the beautiful Old George Gallery in Duke Street, East Fremantle – a great artists’ studios and exhibition space (alas, no more). It was very exciting, the art was very new to many and we would get huge attendances at these exhibitions. A big effort and in those days, we only ran the shows for ten days! Enough time for a good response however and the beginning of a whole new world of art and culture, not just for the audience, but for us too! Many now very well known artists were exhibited in that show – sadly, some have passed, others are still here, still painting.

The first remote community we visited was in the Utopia region in the late 1990’s – and the multiple outstations at which the Utopian artists painted. Utopia is approx 270km north east of Alice Springs, along the Sandover Highway. When the former pastoral lease was returned to its Indigenous owners in 1979, members of the community turned to art. The art was in its infancy at the time and only starting to gain critical appreciation when Robert and Janet Holmes à Court bought the entire collection of silk batik’s made by 88 artists which were the result of a 1988 project working towards an exhibition titled Utopia, a Picture Story. The project was documented in a book of the same name, published by the Holmes à Court’s and on one of our visits some years later, we took the book with us to show the

We often get asked “how did Artitja come about and how did we get involved in the Aboriginal art world?” Well, It all began in 1998 when a friend who had worked in the Alice (Alice Springs in the Northern Territory) was nostalgic for both her friends and the beautiful country. She was thinking of a visit back and I immediately said “I’ve never been to Alice Springs – I’ll come!” I hadn’t been invited, but hey – now it was a plan. Since that time, I have stopped counting at over fifty visits to the centre, either directly to The Alice or on the way to visit a remote community art centre and make valuable and onngoing connections with such. I loved it. I loved the country, I loved the people and as my friend went back to visit her friends involved in the