Art, Culture, Country

Partnering with remote Indigenous Art Centres to deliver a landmark digital project that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to create and share unique arts and cultural experiences with the world.

UPLANDS Logo
UPLANDS Logo

Art, Culture, Country

Partnering with remote Indigenous Art Centres to deliver a landmark digital project that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to create and share unique arts and cultural experiences with the world.

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Art Centres

Bula’Bula Arts

Bula’bula Arts supports 150 artist members from Ramingining and its surrounding outstations in North East Arnhem Land. Local artists coined the name Bula’bula—the voice of the Garrtjambal or red kangaroo—in 1989. The name represents the message in the song cycle of the red kangaroo’s journey from the Roper River to the Ramingining region. The story is depicted in unique Ramingining-style—steeped in spiritual, ritual and historical narratives across a variety of mediums: print, painting, sculpture, fibre art, song, dance, as well as film and literature mediums.

19 Warrk Rd, Ramingining NT 0822

https://bulabula.com.au/

Featured Artists

Born: 1948

Region: Jillawiiri

Peter Gambung is on Bula’Bula Arts board of directors and is a strong advocate for the equitable treatment of Yolngu people. He continues to paint stories to help teach younger generations. His paintings consists of his Gupapuyngu clan’s story lines and song lines.

Born: 1947

Region: Ngaliyindi

Bobby Bununggurr is a singer, dancer, law man and advocate for reconciliation. His paintings are an insight into Yolngu life from both the old days and now. As well as being an incredible painter, he has starred in movies and television including Ten Canoes and Black As. He was the recent recipient Taiwan Indigenous Artist in Resident visiting the Taiwan Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Park, Pingtung, 2019. A song man for his community, Bununggurr also toured nationally and internationally with David Gulpilil in the 1970s and 1980s.

Born: 1959

Region: Ngaliyindi

Joy Burruna is a mid career and highly sort after artist. She loves to paint stories about Morning Star, the very special and spiritual ceremony that is particular to her family and a few other clans in this region. She also paints the King Brown snake, lizards and fruit bats as well as fresh water stories about long neck turtles and crocodiles. These stories are part of her family knowledge.

Born: 2001

Region: Ngilipitji

Taris Ashley is an early career artist and artsworker at Bula’Bula Arts. He became an online sensation alongside Taris Gadawarr for their dancing and screenprinting video that received over 3 million views. His motto is “no serious face”.

Born: 1980

Region: Ngaliyindi

Andrew Wanamilil is Bula’Bula Arts current Chairperson. He is the son of renowned artist Bobby Bununggurr and learnt to paint at an early age by watching his bapa (father). Wanamilil enjoys painting story lines and song lines connected to his Ganalbingu clan of Ngaliyindi.

Born: 1984

Region: Ngaliyindi

Angela Banyawarra(2) is Bula’Bula Arts current Vice Chair. She is the daughter of acclaimed artist Bobby Bununggurr and learnt to paint at an early age by watching her bapa (father). Banyawarra(2) enjoys painting story lines and song lines connected to her Ganalbingu clan of Ngaliyindi.

Born: 1978

Region: Ngaliyindi

Joy Malibirr is an early career fibre artist mother of a young son. She was taught to weave by the generations before her and continues to carry on Yolngu traditional weaving practices.

Born: 1955

Region: Ngaliyindi

Margaret Djarrbalabal is a senior fibre artist at Bula’Bula Arts. She is an excellent weaver who is renowned for her balgurr (kurrajong) fibre creations, compared to gunga (pandanus) which is primarily used amongst Yolngu fibre artists. She is very adept in choosing the perfect leaves and bark to make her remarkable weavings and undoubtedly one of the best natural bush string makers on the Lands.

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A Project by Agency
About

UPLANDS is an immersive digital project that has been designed to celebrate Indigenous Art Centres and share Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artistic and cultural practices with the world.

This large scale immersive digital mapping project features over twenty remote Indigenous Art Centres, and interviews with over 150 Indigenous artists and arts workers from across the country.

UPLANDS is a project by Agency and has been funded by the Australian Government through the Restart to Invest, Sustain and Expand (RISE) program and the Indigenous Visual Art Industry Support (IVAIS) program.


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Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Sovereign Custodians of the land on which we live and work. We extend our respects to their Ancestors and all First Nations peoples and Elders past, present, and future.