Iwantja

Iwantja Arts is an Indigenous-owned and -governed art centre in Indulkana, South Australia, located on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. The centre is a hub of cultural expression and artistic excellence, supporting a vibrant community of artists who share a profound connection to Country. Recently, Iwantja Arts has gained significant recognition, highlighted by the release of the monograph Then/Now/Always by Thames and Hudson, which celebrates the talent and spirit of this remote arts community.

The exhibition Then/Now/Always, which showed at Michael Reid Southern Highlands from January to February this year, featured works by five leading women artists from Iwantja: Raylene Walatinna, Rosalind Tjanyari, Priscilla Singer, Vicki Yatjiki Cullinan, and Emily Cullinan. The show was threaded with reflections on family, culture, and the powerful connection to Country that fuels each artist’s practice. Their extraordinary paintings hum with energy, colour, and living histories that weave together the past, present, and eternal. This exhibition represents a significant moment of critical regard and public recognition for Iwantja Arts, reinforcing its status as one of the strongest arts communities in Australia.

Among the featured artists is Vicki Yatjiki Cullinan, a highly respected Yankunytjatjara artist and cultural liaison officer at Iwantja Arts. Known for her deep engagement with Tjukurpa (Ancestral Stories), Vicki has spent over two decades developing her practice in painting, printmaking, and drawing. Her recent accolades include winning the 2023 Hadley’s Art Prize, which recognised her lifelong dedication to her craft and her role in advocating for Indigenous-led governance and ownership of arts communities. Vicki’s paintings are renowned for their dynamic, rhythmic compositions that evoke the powerful landscapes of Yankunytjatjara Country.

Emily Cullinan, Vicki’s mother and one of the most senior women in the community, has been a trailblazing artist at Iwantja Arts for many years. At 70, she has recently experienced a major breakthrough in her painting practice with works that are deeply inspired by her memories of travelling vast distances on foot across the APY Lands with her family. These paintings, filled with the stories of her early years, capture the essence of her people and culture. The intergenerational collaboration between Emily and Vicki, alongside their fellow artists, illustrates the profound continuity and resilience of cultural storytelling at Iwantja Arts, where each piece serves as a teaching tool and a celebration of life, Country, and heritage.