We are Aboriginal Artists from Numbulwar, a remote community on the Gulf of Carpentaria, located 700km east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. We are one of the most isolated communities in Arnhem Land.
Our vision is to establish the Numburindi Arts Centre, an Aboriginal-owned Cultural Arts Hub in Numbulwar in 2017.
We’re skilled artists, painters, weavers, carvers, practising traditional and contemporary art making, passed on from generation to generation. We have been dreaming for a long time about a dedicated space where we can produce cultural art products, to sustain and preserve our art practices.
A place where art and enterprise interconnect, to make our own jobs and provide economic independence. Allowing us to share our culture through art with Australia, and the world.
It’s not easy living in remote Australia, we know we can do this, but we need your help to make this dream a reality.
You can support us by making a donation, or purchase one of our unique woven baskets or traditional paintings.
The Challenge
Like many remote communities, Numbulwar faces persistent economic exclusion; job opportunities for local residents are sparse and access to training and education is limited.
Wubuy is the traditional language spoken in the area and for many, English is a second or third language. Access to internet and modern technology is non-existant for locals.
Currently, artists work under make-shift shelters in often extreme weather conditions to produce their art. Despite these challenges, artists have rallied with remarkable resilience to achieve their dreams of building an art centre for the community. The building of the arts centre will be conducted by Numbulwar Homelands Council and will commence in the dry season.
The Opportunity
The Numburindi Arts Centre creates opportunities for individual artists and the community to celebrate and share their unique cultural identity with the world. This project is driven by a core group of 10 Aboriginal women. These respected Elders are renowned for their talent and artistry in fibre weaving using Pandanus and Ghost Nets (abandoned fishing nets). The women have identified art as a pathway to create enterprise opportunities.
The Numburindi Arts Centre provides significant economic, social and cultural benefits that extend beyond the individual artist, creating a ripple effect that impacts the entire community.
Ongoing support will be provided by Enterprise Learning Projects, a not-for-profit organisation working with Aboriginal people in remote Australia to develop and grow community-driven social enterprise.
You can join us
Our goal is to raise $30,000!
Here’s what we will do if we reach our goals…
Materials and Workshops: $10,000
This level of investment provides the funds to support the initial purchase of materials and facilitate business and creative arts workshops, providing foundational learning for a range of arts-based enterprises. These will include screen-printed fabrics and textile design, as well as products woven from traditional Pandanus and contemporary recycled materials.
Precious Plastics Numbulwar: $20,000
‘Precious Plastics Numbulwar’ creates opportunities for fibre artists to produce marketable, cultural arts products from recycled plastic waste.
Aboriginal women in Numbulwar are renowned for their unique fibre art and basket weaving using traditional Pandanus and Ghost Nets (abandoned fishing nets), however, these materials are not always accessible. With no recycling facilities in the community and an abundance of plastic debris readily available.
‘Precious Plastics Numbulwar’ project was initiated in collaboration with Enterprise Learning Projects and Macquarie University Engineering Department. Engineering students are in the process of building a series innovative plastic recycling machines, which turns discarded plastic into yarn.
The Numbulwar women will use the yarn to weave contemporary, innovative and high-quality furniture and homewares, forming the basis for their own sustainable cultural arts social-enterprise.
This level of funding will support the transportation of the machines from Sydney to Numbulwar, and the facilitation of training for community members.
Numburindi Arts Centre Troopy: $30,000
A 4WD is an essential part of running a bush business in remote Australia. Numbulwar is in the far north of Australia, where the temperature can reach 40 degrees on any given day, roads are unsealed, the closest city is 700km away, and crocodiles, snakes, spiders, dingoes, pigs and wild buffalo are around every corner.
A Toyota Land-Cruiser Troop Carrier gives the artists the ability to make essential bush trips to collect pandanus, natural plants for dying and other native art supplies. Currently, artists walk over 20km a day in extreme and potentially dangerous conditions to maintain their traditional art making practices.
The vehicle would also allow the artists to visit surrounding Aboriginal communities and art centres to explore collaborative partnerships and to attend art fairs, events, galleries and markets in Katherine and Darwin.
Here’s some incredible rewards for supporting us.
Hand Made Traditional Woven Baskets
Numbulwar women are renowned for their expertise in fibre craft and weaving. The creation of fibre objects has a long history in Arnhem Land with traditional techniques being passed on through generations.
The women often walk long distances to harvest pandanus palm for coiled baskets. They are stripped, dried and then boiled in a pot of local plant dyes. In recent years the women have applied traditional techniques to contemporary materials. This includes baskets made from recycled ghost nets – abandoned fishing nets that wash up on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
By supporting this project, you can be the proud owner of a unique cultural gift. Each one is handmade, the signature of the artist is embedded in every thread.
Painting on Canvas by Ivan Ngalmi
Ivan has been an artist for over 20 years. As a young fella he was always creative and learnt how to paint from his Uncle John. He later studied fine arts in Darwin.
Ivan loves to paint animals from the land and sea that live in the region, including stingrays, turtles, dugong and fish, showcasing his connection to his country. His traditional style uses colours inspired by the earth and x-ray and crosshatching techniques to depict fine details in each piece.
Who’s behind this campaign
This project is driven by a core group of artist and respected Elders who have identified art as a pathway to create enterprise opportunities.
Jangu
Yulki
Guymumiagi
Dalajirra
Lillian
Ivan
Rose, Maungumain, Jangu and Langarama
Marinja
Mara
Supported by Tanya at Enterprise Learning Projects