Artitja Fine Art Gallery celebrates Indigenous women artists in 'WOMEN'S WAY | We Started It And We're Naming It'

Artitja Fine Art Gallery presents its latest exhibition, 'WOMEN'S WAY | We Started It And We're Naming It', which will showcase the works of over twenty female artists from six remote communities around Australia. The exhibition, which opens on

Saturday 11 March at Earlywork Fremantle, coincides with International Women's Day 2023 and celebrates the importance and accomplishments of Indigenous women in the contemporary art scene.

Indigenous art has a long and rich history in Australia, dating back thousands of years before colonial settlement. Engravings and paintings on rocks and cave walls, as well as body paint for ceremonies, have sustained through millennia and remain of great cultural significance. With the introduction of acrylic paints in the 1970s, a contemporary art movement emerged, and Indigenous women have been at the forefront of this movement.

The establishment of Warlukurlangu, an art centre in the remote community of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory in the early 1980s, was a turning point for Indigenous women artists. With the support of art supplies, the women were able to raise enough funds to establish their own art centre, which they named Warlukurlangu after an important Fire Dreaming site. The women proclaimed, "We started it and we're naming it," reflecting their sense of ownership and pride in their artistic achievements.

'Mina Mina Dreaming' by Jeanie Napangardi Lewis

“It is no coincidence that this exhibition opens in the week of International Women’s Day.” says Artitja Director Anna Kanaris. “The women are at the forefront of the art and are great mentors to the younger members of the community, which is evident in the exhibition of new artists alongside the established, all of whom deserve to be honoured.”.

“The exhibition titled Women’s Way reflects that the path has not been an easy one for Indigenous women, and we would hope that this selection of artworks from around the country ought to be seen as life-giving, visionary and immensely powerful.”

WOMEN'S WAY | We Started It And We're Naming It will be open from March 11th until April 2nd, 2023. The exhibition will be at Earlywork in South Fremantle open from 10am to 4pm Wednesday to Sunday. You can see more of the incredible artwork and artists featured in the exhibition here.