Desert Mob 2021

Presented by Araluen Arts Centre and Desart

Desert Mob celebrates a milestone in 2021; 30 years of bringing together the art and culture of Aboriginal artists from millions of square kilometres of desert country and kinship.

Initiated by the Araluen Arts Centre, the first exhibition in 1991 presented the contemporary art and craft work of thirteen art centres and art groups, with the hope that it would become an annual event. In 2021 artists from art centres in Arrernte country, the Western Desert, Martu country, Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, Ngaanyatjarra Lands, Spinifex country, the Barkly and Utopia, will come together for Desert Mob’s 30th anniversary year.

Across three decades, Desert Mob has presented thousands of new works by thousands of artists, shared their many stories and cultural projects, and has become a nationally renowned and anticipated event. Desert Mob has created a legacy as a unique coming together in Mparntwe, as a place for artists’ familial, intergenerational gathering and exchange, and for audiences to listen to and share in one of the most significant art movements and the strongest expressions of First Nations culture in the world.

Desert Mob 2021 will be celebratory and reflective. The official opening and performances, exhibition, symposium, marketplace and associated events at venues across Mparntwe are an unmissable opportunity to experience and share artist’s voices, stories, resilience and strength, and witness this exhilarating statement of Aboriginal art and its dynamism over 30 years.

Desert Mob 2021 Exhibition

Spanning three galleries and hundreds of new works by established mid-career and emerging artists, selected and curated for inclusion by the artists and their art centres, The Desert Mob exhibition is a testament to tradition and a testing ground for experimentation and innovation in contemporary Aboriginal art from the desert

Desert Mob Symposium

The Desert Mob Symposium is series of presentations by artists, art centres and special guests. Through film, animation, image and performance, artists reveal and share their stories, ideas, projects and creative processes. The symposium provides a rich context for Desert Mob, reinforcing and celebrating the pivotal role of country, living culture and community in the lives of artists

Desert Mob MarketPlace

The Desert Mob Marketplace is a large affordable art market, bringing together paintings, punu, ceramics, Tjanpi weaving, sculpture, clothing, jewellery, textiles and homewares from artists across desert country. Buying from the Desert Mob marketplace is ethical purchasing, with all income going to Aboriginal-owned art centres in their remote communities.