Warnayaka Art was established in the mid 1980s by the desert walkers who remembered meeting white people for the first time.
Now Warnayaka Art is run by their children & grandchildren. We specialise in Aboriginal Art made by Warlpiri people. These members of the art centre are the residents of Lajamanu. This township on the northern edge of the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory, halfway between Darwin and Alice Springs. The closest supermarket, dentist and hospital is in Katherine 580kms north of Lajamanu. Warnayaka Art exhibits in Australia and around the world. The members travel to many of these exhibitions and art markets.
Our Artists
The Warlpiri peoples’ stories are part of their art. The artists draw heavily on their ancient cultural roots, producing works about their links to their lands and their way of life from before European arrival.
The artists have been finalists in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards.
Our Art
The most important thing expressed by the artists, is the need to preserve and pass on cultural practice between generations.
Walpiri art in Lajamanu encompasses elements of language, family, social structure, law, ceremony, and their land.
The Art Centre
Warnayaka Art Studio is a place of peaceful contemplation. The artists talk and paint. The staff are mainly children of the older generation of Warlpiri Lajamanu residents who remembered their first contact with Europeans.
Latest Artwork
Women’s Dreaming
$400.00
Bush Honey
$720.00
Landscape
$740.00
Women’s Dreaming
$4,500.00
Women’s Dreaming
$450.00
Seed Dreaming
$4,000.00
Warlpiri Art And Cultural History
Art was about recording knowledge to memory. Warlpiri ceremony could include dance, music, singing, painting on the body, fire, ground mosaics and art on wooden objects as well as costume dress. Ceremony was performed to impress into the attendees and participants memories information they needed to know and preserve for future people. There was a broad range of topics included in these immersive classrooms. Much of it was about land ownership and its maintenance.
Artistic Style
Artists developed their brush work and paint mixing techniques from observing their elders to produce the newest generations of artistic style in Lajamanu. They learnt from the best artists at Warnayaka Art. Colours can be bright, applied confidently with elements that trace back to the earliest techniques of applying mediums such as ochres on the body.
Our Partners
We are deeply grateful for the support and collaboration of our valued partners. Your dedication and commitment play a crucial role in advancing our mission to celebrate and preserve Aboriginal art and culture. Through our partnership, we can continue to showcase the rich heritage and vibrant creativity of Aboriginal artists.
