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.
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.
The Hermannsburg Potters are a dedicated group of Western Arrarnta artists creating vibrant handmade ceramic pots that encompass collective and individually lived histories in their distinct Country. The Hermannsburg artists were established in 1990 and continue a 30-year legacy, sculpting and painting their visual histories and contemporary settings, speaking to their cultural beliefs, traditions and values.
Lot 171 Kaltjarrinja St, Hermannsburg NT 0872
Born: 1943
Region: Western Aranda
Anita Ratara is a senior artist at Hermannsburg Potters and is regarded for her confident & colourful painting of Country. Anita was ‘born bush’ in the alukura (women’s camp) near Hermannsburg in 1943. She is the mother of prominent potter Hayley Coulthard. Anitas youngest daughter Alizha is an emerging artist. She attended the Hermannsburg Mission school, and later went on to work in the clinic, teaching the young mother’s who had children. Anita mostly depicts Palm Valley in her work, of which she is a Traditional Owner. Palm Valley is Anita’s grandfather’s Country, and she continues to assert her links with her Country through her art.
Born: 1967
Region: Western Aranda
Joining the Hermannsburg Potters in 2009, Hayley Coulthard developed her raw natural talent under the mentorship of senior Potters Judith Inkamala, Kumantjayi Ungwanaka and her mother Anita Ratara. Now a mid-career artist and strong leader of the Hermannsburg Potters, Hayley Coulthard is known for producing work of both a high technical standard and of artistic merit. Hayley has participated in more than 50 group exhibitions in Australia and overseas Hayley’s work is held in many public and private collections. Hayley is a dedicated Art Worker at Hermannsburg Potters and is the Chair for Hermannsburg Potters, stepping up to the leadership role for 2022. Hayley also currently sits on the Desart Incorporated Board.
Born: 1947
Region: Western Aranda
Judith Inkamala is the Chair and senior member of Hermannsburg Potters Aboriginal Corporation, having joined the founding group of artists in 1993. Judith is an is an inspiring and respected leader in her community of Ntaria (Hermannsburg), for her unwavering dedication and commitment to intergenerational sharing of cultural and ceramic knowledge. Judith is also a proud, former member of the renowned Hermannsburg Choir. In her works, Judith depicts her lived histories and distinct Western Arranta Country. She sculpts and paints these visual histories and contemporary settings, speaking to her cultural beliefs, traditions and values. With near 30 years’ experience working with clay and underglazes, Judith’s work is a skilfully painted as the pot is constructed.
Born: 1983
Region: Western Aranda
Abel Pareroultja joined the Hermannsburg Potters end of February 2022. In March 2022, Abel participated in workshops held at JamFactory, Adelaide as part of Hermannsburg Potters’ Men’s Development Program. Abel took to the medium right away, bringing his existing landscape painting skills together to create beautiful pots depicting Country.
Born: 1970
Region: Western Aranda
Rona Rubuntja is the niece of famous water-colourist and elder Wenten Rubuntja. She joined the Hermannsburg Potters in 1998, and has since established herself as one of the most prominent senior artists of the group, participating in exhibitions in Australia and internationally. Rona’s work was shortlisted for the Telstra NATSIAA’s in 2021, and has been selected for the prestigious Shepparton Art Museum Indigenous Ceramic Art Award three times. Rona’s joyous style is distinctive, humorous and imaginative, and her storytelling ability comes across most strongly in her figurative work.
Born: 1977
Region: Western Aranda
Beth Inkamala is the niece of prominent potter Clara Inkamala. Judith Inkamala is her nanny. Beth grew up in Hermannsburg, where she recalls observing her aunties working with pottery in the 1990s. In 2014 Beth starting making her-own work developing a distinctive style. Beth is disciplined in her work, using hand coil technique and her distinctive contemporary approach to painting. Beth’s dedication to the potters, interest in her local community and the world around her is taking her from strength to strength.
Born: 1970
Region: Western Aranda
Voight is an exciting emerging artist, joining the Hermannsburg Potters in 2021 as part of the Men’s Development Program. Since joining the program, Voight has been dedicated to learning and developing his practice with the ceramic medium, coming to the art centre to work on his pots almost every day. Voight was a finalist in the 2022 Telstra NATSIAAs with his pot ‘Five stories of Country’.
Born: 1980
Region: Western Aranda
Andrea Rontji joined the potters in 2017. Andrea comes from a big family of potters and is the niece of prominent potters Lindy and Carol Rontji and is the Grandaughter of Virginia Rontji and Irene Entata. Andrea draws her inspiration from the landscape, flora, fauna and community surrounding Hermannsburg. She has a fine attention to detail in her brushwork and is a skilled hand builder with clay. Andrea has a very positive and gentle approach and is an exciting emerging artist at Hermannsburg Potters. Andrea is also a Director and Art Worker for Hermannsburg Potters.
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I first met Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni while working with Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair as one of the curatorial delegates in 2017. I was tasked with assisting an art center to set up a stall,…
Victoria and Southeastern Australia are lands steeped in the complex tapestry of Indigenous histories and identities. These narratives, forged in the crucible of colonial devastation and contemporary cultural resurgence, tell tales of resilience and renewal.
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Artists at Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre are Western Aranda people and paint their Country using the watercolour techniques passed on by Albert Namatjira down family lines, known as the Hermannsburg School of painting. The Country…
Sitting in the shade at Angurugu Women’s Art Centre, a group of Anindilyakwa women listen to visitors who have travelled far to meet with them on Groote Eylandt, located in the Gulf of Carpentaria in…
Nestled alongside the Musgrave Ranges in Pukatja community in the remote north-west of South Australia, Ernabella Arts on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands is the oldest continuously running Indigenous art centre in Australia. In…
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Song rings out through the art centres as an Elder sings the story of the Country they are painting, renewing their Country while teaching the story to any in earshot; sometimes when this happens people…
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.
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.
