Feature.. Ninuku Arts: Crafting Pathways
Ninuku Arts: Crafting Pathways
Inspired by the installations featured in the Chihuly in the Botanic Garden exhibition, a new project has been developed to provide long term opportunities for South Australian First Nations artists.
Painting the Graals at Ninuku Arts. Photographer: Lleweyn Ash.
Since 2019, Ninuku Arts has collaborated with JamFactory’s Glass Studio to create handcrafted glass vessels that blend contemporary glassmaking techniques with traditional Indigenous designs.
Ninuku Arts is an Indigenous Arts centre located in the remote community of Kalka in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, near the tri-state border of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory with a focus on painting, jewellery and punu. The collaboration was initiated when a group of Ninuku Arts artists visited JamFactory in 2018 and, after viewing the Glass Studio, were adamant about working with glass. The collaboration provides new creative pathways to capture the imaginations of young artists wishing to explore non-traditional mediums outside of canvas as well as providing easier more practical and portable processes for older painters. Guided by Mandi King, the former arts centre manager and JamFactory Glass Studio alumnus, the idea of utilising the traditional Swedish Graal technique to celebrate the artists’ painting skills was formed.
The vessels begin as a Graal – a small, egg-shaped blown glass bubble – made by the Glass Studio which are then shipped to Ninuku Arts so that the artists can hand paint their bold designs onto the surfaces with enamel paint. The designs tell Tjukurpa (stories), such as wanampi (water snake), walka (design), ngintaka (lizard), anumara (caterpillar) and kakalyalya (cockatoo). The decorated Graals then travel back to the Glass Studio where they are blown and enlarged by a team of glass blowers into the shape specified by the artists.
The cross-cultural partnership between Ninuku Arts and JamFactory allows for an exchange of knowledge that results in the creation of unique pieces, celebrates collaboration and demonstrates respect for each other’s cultures.
The latest iteration of the partnership sees Ninuku Arts artists travel to Adelaide in October for a week-long workshop across the Adelaide Botanic Garden and JamFactory Glass Studio. The artists will tour the Chihuly exhibition focusing on the elements that contribute to an impactful large scale public artwork and identifying methods that can be integrated into their existing practices.
Glass Studio Commissions Manager Llewelyn Ash recently travelled to Ninuku Arts to deliver the blank Graals for the artists to paint in preparation for their time at JamFactory. Working with a renowned South Australian glass artist as mentor, the workshop will explore the use of repetition and scale in the production of glass artworks.
The project aims to facilitate the sharing of skills and knowledge, empowering the artists to think about their practices differently and providing new opportunities for professional growth.
Ninuku Arts will showcase the outcomes of the workshop in an exhibition in Collect at JamFactory in December 2024.