Cairns' newest exhibition, art and design hub, Studio 29, will celebrate the opening of its much-anticipated show, Flourishing, on Friday, 22 November.
Hosted in collaboration with the Short Street Gallery, the exhibition will feature award-winning paintings by acclaimed Luritja artist Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson.
Nampitjinpa Anderson is a prominent artist whose work is deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of the Western Desert and the early Papunya art movement.
All the way from Broome's Short Street Gallery, Nampitjinpa Anderson's new collection of works will find a good home within Cairns' Studio 29.
Short Street Gallery director and co-founder of Studio 29, Emily Rohr - who has been representing and promoting First Nations artists since 1998 - said the works that comprise Flourishing are extraordinary and a must-see for anyone who appreciates First Nations art.
"Alison's work is beautifully observed. While Alison lives and paints in her home studio in Julatten, her cultural and family ties stretch across large tracts of the western desert, which is the source of her inspiration - the harsh landscape of her homelands and the intergenerational stories within are redolent in the colours, textures and delightfully abstract resolve of her paintings," she said.
According to Rohr, Nampitjinpa Anderson experienced the origins of the western desert art movement first-hand and has enjoyed close relations with many first-generation painters.
Her artistic practice, subjects and techniques are tied to the desert Country, and Flourishing is about honouring the seriousness of the tradition while paying homage to her teachers and sacred nature of desert law.
"While an artist all her life, she's incredibly accomplished beyond her works on canvas, from writing and speaking four distinct Indigenous languages and dialects to raising five children, being a grandmother to eight and for almost 20 years enjoying a distinguished political career," Rohr said.
Dedicated to serving the community, Nampitjinpa Anderson twice won the central desert NT seat of MacDonnell, now renamed after her grandfather Albert Namatjira, and served as a Minister for Aboriginal Advancement and Regional Development.
While Flourishing is only Studio 29's second exhibition, it is set to gain the attention of both devoted art fans and the general public. The first exhibition, WE ARE WATI, celebrated the studio's opening by creative partners Rohr and Hyaseil Gilligan and presented a collection of paintings from remote First Nations artists aligned with Short Street Gallery.
Studio 29 is a multi-purpose art, design, and event hub in the heart of Cairns where creative people can indulge, ideate, and do things differently. Everyone who enters the space is encouraged to be their authentic self.
"Studio 29 is a meld of bright interiors, inspired furnishings and contemporary design with enough versatility to be whatever space you want it to be," said Gilligan.
Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson's Flourishing exhibition will open on Friday the 22nd of November, from 6 pm at 29 Sheridan Street, Cairns. Everyone is welcome; RSVP essential.
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