Desert magic

By ERWIN CHLANDA

“When artists and art workers have agency, about what is produced and supported, when they conceive and execute new work, innovative, led by the artists, then magic can happen.”

Philip Watkins (pictured) is talking about what makes tick the 39 art centres in the heart of Australia. Some of them are immensely remote, yet their work is shown in the nation’s most important galleries and some overseas.

The CEO of Desart, which managed the just closed 35th annual Desert Mob festival in Alice Springs, says in a good art centre, all of them independent, creativity needs to be matched with a solid foundation and management, usually by a board.

The cash flowing from the two week festival, around three quarters of a million dollars, is nice but the even better news is the cohort that earned it: An increasing number of artists in their thirties and forties, a sure sign that The Centre’s ancient culture and fascinating, varied stories, and the magnificent works they underpin, have a healthy future, says Mr Watkins.

There were 197 works from 32 art centres. 145 were sold, 73.6% to be exact. The sales happened, about half-half, on opening day and during the following art market.

The highest priced is Barbara Moore's at $20,000. She is from the NPY lands in the top end of SA.

About 10% of the 7000 people through the door were from interstate.

For the artists congregating in The Alice it’s a happy social function, says Mr Watkins, and more: With a competitive mind they also check out what the others are up to. Their best work is at Desert Mob.

Minyma mamu 2024

by Naomi Kantjuriny

Synthetic polymer paint on linen. $7000.

I paint only mamu. This Tjukurpa lives deep in my mind – I see them, always. Hairy, dangerous spirits, mamu roam the night, stealing kurunpa [soul] from the sick, the young, the weak. As a ngangkari [healer] I fight them with mara ala – open hands – and return lost spirits to the body. My art comes from this same place of healing. In black and white, I paint their forms and journeys. I see their fur, their evil, their hunger. My role is to reveal them, to warn and protect. This is not just story. I is lived truth, and painting it helps keep my people safe.