Selling Yarns

Australian Indigenous textiles and good business in the 21st century

 

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Twined Together: Issues, outcomes and the the Monica factor

Session: Success stories 2:30 - 3:45 pm, Monday, 14 August 2006

Anthony Murphy

Manager, Injalak Arts and Crafts

Abstract

Twined Together: Kunmadj Njalehnjaleken is a touring exhibition by Injalak Arts, celebrating the creativity and integrity of the fibre artists of western Arnhem Land. A book of the same name was published by Injalak in 2005. It is over a year since Museum Victoria hosted the opening of the Twined Together exhibition and book launch, accordingly, it is timely to consider the outcomes associated with Twined.

This talk is a partnership between Anthony Murphy, Manager of Injalak Arts and crafts and Jill Nganjmirra, an established fibre artist. Jill as assistant curator and advisor to Louise Hamby, curator, researcher and editor of Twined has a different perspective on the outcomes of the project overall. Her personal views of the project and what she sees as the benefits on the ground for her and her fellow artists will be discussed. This is particularly relevant since she is one of the featuredfibre artists in this year's Teltra's National Aboriginal Torres Straig Islander Art Award exhibition.

Twined Together was the dream child of Anthony Murphy. He will demonstrate what it has meant for the Injalak Art Centre and the benefits it has had for the profile of its fibre artists. In an ironic twist, almost a year to the day of the launch of Twined Together, the biggest cyclone to hit the Top End, Cyclone Monica, destroyed the stands of pandanus used in the majority of fibre art production. Accordingly, no fibre art has been coming in through the Injalak Art centre since Monica left its trail of devastation. How does the Art Centre factor in this environmental loss into its economic profile?

See also: Anthony Murphy's biography