Situated at the Larapinta Valley Town Camp at the base of Mt Gillen in Alice Springs, the Art Room of the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning Centre has quickly become one of the most dynamic forces in contemporary Australian Indigenous art.
Established in 2000 as an intergenerational education and community facility, Yarrenyty Arltere was introduced as a safe space away from the extreme poverty, overcrowding and social issues that afflicted the remote town, and provide the town camp’s residents with new skills and opportunities in an area with little access to work or education. A social enterprise since 2008, the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning Centre is credited with significantly improving living conditions within the community.
Especially noted for their soft sculptures made from recycled woollen blankets hand-dyed with local plants and rusted metal, the Yarrenyty Arltere artists create works that reveal the stories and experiences of generations of town camp residents.
Represented in significant public and private collections throughout Australia, the unique sculptures have twice won the Wandjuk Marika Memorial Three-Dimensional Award (Rhonda Sharpe – 2015, 2013) at the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAAs), won the inaugural Vincent Lingiari Award (Marlene Rubuntja, 2016), and have been included in major Australian exhibitions such as the 2018 NGV Triennial, Melbourne, the 21stBiennale of Sydney, and the 2017 TARNANTHI Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Adelaide.
Yarrenyty Arltere Artists: Dulcie Sharpe, Rhonda Sharpe, Marlene Rubuntja, Trudy Inkamala, Louise Robertson, Beth Ebatarinja, Patricia Nelson, Benita Multa
Image: LOUISE ROBERTSON, Pussycat (back)2024, woollen blanket, knitting wool, cotton, metal stand, 36 x 60 x 14 cm
