Gift | Araluen Collection

Gift #1

This exhibition is a celebration of the Araluen Art Collection; a Collection held in trust by the Araluen Arts Centre for the people of Central Australia and for the enjoyment of locals and visitors to the region.

This Collection actively reflects artistic evolution and brilliance in Central Australia. It is extensive, dating back to the 1930s, and capturing key movements, and moments.

This exhibition concentrates on many of the significant gifts made to Araluen, including through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, gifts by artists, collectors, and long-term supporters of Araluen as well as other key acquisitions.

These generous gifts are crucial in building a Collection of significance, one that is unique, nationally important, and reflective of this region.

In addition, artworks on long terms loan with Araluen are also featured, highlighting Araluen’s role as a key collecting institution and custodian of collections important to this region.

Gift #2

The Araluen Art Collection was started in 1984 through several commissions for the opening of the Araluen Arts Centre.

These include the impressive stained-glass windows running the length of the facade of the building and in the Box Office; the site specific Split by Trevor Weekes in the Araluen grounds, and the extraordinary painting Yuelamu, Nyinyalingi, Yulutjirrka, Tjipitji and Ngalu Tjukurrpa by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.

This work has also been transformed into the major mural running the length of the external wall of the Albert Namatjira Gallery.

From these formative years the Araluen Collection has achieved considerable momentum and today contains almost 1,500 artworks across all media by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists.

Gift #3

Across four decades the Araluen Collection has been shaped and honed by many, including under the management of the Alice Springs Town Council (ASTC) from 1986 to 1996.

It was during this time that a significant number of artworks were gifted to ASTC for the Araluen Collection by the Central Australian Art Society and the Alice Springs Art Foundation, works they had acquired from their respective art prizes: the Caltex/NT Art Award and the Alice Prize.

These artworks are permanently housed at Araluen where they are regularly exhibited in curated exhibitions in the Araluen Galleries.

Since 1996, the Northern Territory Government has managed Araluen and has continued to invest and build the Collection, with an emphasis on reflecting artistic developments across Central Australia.

Gift #4

As this exhibition demonstrates, Araluen relies on the generosity of artists and supporters in building the Araluen Collection. Featured are several significant gifts, including from John Olsen and John Wolseley; and recently a series of photographs 

from the Pamela Lofts estate; watercolours by Albert Namatjira and the Hermannsburg School; Copyright victory commissioned by the Namatjira Legacy Trust from Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre to mark the milestone of regaining Albert Namatjira’s copyright; paintings capturing the evolution of the Western Desert art movement from the 1990s-2000s; gifts of Neridah Stockley paintings, and from Marina Strocchi.

In addition, several other significant gifts have been generously donated by supporters of Araluen that considerably enhance the Collection.

These gifts represent incredible generosity and not only highlight the level of trust placed in Araluen, it also enables the Araluen Collection to develop in ways that would otherwise not be possible.

In addition, for over two decades Araluen has been housing major collections significant to the region under long term loan arrangements, including the Papunya School Collection of early Papunya paintings and the Warlukurlangu Artists Collection, a number are featured in this exhibition, along with four important watercolour paintings by Albert Namatjira from the National Gallery of Australia loaned through the sharing the national collection initiative.

These collections are regularly exhibited alongside the Araluen Collection to strengthen the representation of art from this region.

This key commitment of Araluen not only ensures these artworks are cared for in optimum conditions they are also experienced by the many visitors to the Araluen Arts Centre.

Gift #5

Ultimately this exhibition celebrates the gift of art, and the way it endlessly enriches our lives.

Artists are masters of innovation through their extraordinary artistic expression which continually stimulates and challenges us in meaningful ways.

The artworks demonstrate remarkable creativity, knowledge, and capacity.

They provide us with an experience and give us agency in the way we engage with and interpret them, a process that stimulates our minds, fosters connection, and facilitates a richer cultural experience.

Thank you to artists, donors and lenders for their extraordinary gift, one that will be enduring for generations to come.