What is the Papunya art movement?
Papunya movement background Aboriginal rock painting and carving in Australia is a tradition stretching back at least 40,000 years. The artwork was a reflection of Aboriginal understandings of their world but this system of beliefs was challenged by the arrival of white settlers in 1788.
Who are the Papunya tribe?
Papunya is a small Indigenous Australian community roughly 240 kilometres (150 mi) northwest of Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in the Northern Territory, Australia.
What is important about Papunya and Western Desert art?
Western Desert Art is known for the use of iconography to portray the meanings of their paintings but there has always been a metaphorical part. In the early days many Papunya paintings were bold in their portrayal of stories often of which should not have been left so naked to the Westerners eye.
In what year did the Papunya Tula art movement began?
1971
The Papunya Tula Art Movement began in 1971 when a school teacher, Geoffrey Bardon, encouraged some of the men to paint a blank school wall. The murals sparked off tremendous interest in the community and soon many men started painting. In 1972 the artists successfully established their own company.
Who established the Papunya settlement?
Papunya Native Settlement was officially opened by the Welfare Branch of the Northern Territory Administration in March 1959. The site for the settlement was chosen by the government as a solution to overcrowding and the lack of water at the Haast’s Bluff Native Settlement, 40 kilometres away.
How big is papunya?
Information. Papunya, is a small Indigenous Australian community of about 350 people roughly 240 km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia.
What happened at Papunya?
The Central Australian government settlement of Papunya, 240km west of Alice Springs, was established in the late 1950’s to advance the assimilation of ‘bush’ Aborigines and accommodate the increasing populations of people in the already settled Aboriginal communities and reserves.
How did Papunya painting begin?
In 1971, with the encouragement of a Geoffrey Bardon, a European art teacher at Papunya, contemporary Aboriginal art, known as the Papunya Tula Art Movement, began. Starting with a mural on the external wall of the school yard, the art movement at Papunya evolved both in style, technique and imagery.
When was Papunya established?
1959
Papunya was established as a government settlement in 1959, when Aboriginal people came in from the desert. Settlements such as Papunya were established by successive Australian governments under the controversial policy of assimilation. They aimed to socialise Aboriginal people into a European way of life.