Tiwi Designs (Tiwi Designs Aboriginal Corporation) is an Aboriginal art centre located in

Wurrumiyanga Wurrumiyanga (), formerly Nguiu (, ), is a community on the southern coast of Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Australia. Nguiu was founded in 1911 as a Catholic mission by Francis Xavier Gsell. In 2010 Nguiu was renamed Wurrumiyanga, ...

(formerly Nguiu) on Bathurst Island (one of the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...

), north of

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

, Australia. It holds a notable place in the history of the contemporary

Aboriginal art Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carvin ...

movement as one of the longest running Aboriginal art centres, having started as a small screen-printing group in 1968-69. Only Ernabella Arts (1948) can establish a longer history.

Designs

Tiwi Designs began with a series of woodblock prints produced in a small room under the Catholic Presbytery in Nguiu in 1968. These were produced by young artists Bede Tungatalum and Giovanni Tipungwuti with aid from Madeline Clear, the local art teacher. By 1969 these designs were being transferred to silkscreens, which remains a central medium for Tiwi artists and designers. The art centre was officially incorporated as an association in 1980.

Exhibitions

Tiwi Designs’ first exhibition was held in 1971 at the Sebert Gallery in Sydney. Another Sydney exhibition, at the Hogarth Galleries in 1980, was greeted with coverage in

Vogue magazine ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vog ...

, the Sydney Morning Herald and the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

evening news. Within one year of this exhibition, a number of documentaries were made about the Tiwi Islands, Tiwi Tours was started and the turnover of Tiwi Designs increased tenfold from around $30,000 to $300,000 per annum.

Current

The art centre today produces screen printed fabrics, ochre paintings on bark and canvas,

ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...

carvings, ceramics, bronze and glass sculptures and limited edition prints.

References

{{reflist, 30em Australian Aboriginal art Australian artist groups and collectives