Celebrating ALL of the finalists to this year's National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. From Yirrkala and homelands we congratulate Napuwarri Marawili, Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu, Ishmael Marika, Gunybi Ganambarr, Guruwuy Murrinyina, Wanapati Yunupiŋu, Barayuwa Munuŋgurr, Wulu Marawili, Yalmakany Marawili and our Chair, Binygurr Wirrpanda. We can't wait to meet everyone at our annual gathering of the tribes that is Darwin in August. 🙏
A big thank you to our long term partner Gabriella Roy for a beautiful hang and to our friend Frances for capturing it so nicely.
The saintly Dr.G is singing of a creature that lives within these designs who encounters Wuyal on Marrakulu country. Butjikat (Pussycat) or Marwurrumburr the Northern Quoll.
Get @reshare_app • @francescacavazziniart In ‘Yarrpany - Sweet Bush Honey’ at @aboriginalpacificart , four Yirrkala artists each bring their unique style and designs to interpret the different stages and elements of songs about Wuyal, the Marrakulu ancestral sugar bag man, on his quest to fell the Wänambi tree. This act caused a river of honey that became the Gurka’wuy River.
Adorned in a feathered head dress and armbands and carrying dilly bags, a spear and woomera, he traveled the land naming places, plants and animals, creating features in the land along the way. He founded the Marrakulu homeland.
The sense of the spiritual and ancestral power of these stories and the protagonists that feature within them is conveyed through the use of incredibly fine, cross hatching, dotting and repeated lines that give the undulating surfaces of the barks a shimmering effect. In Yalanba Wanambi’s work this effect is mainly achieved through the use of glittering black sand adhered to the surface, which is found only in one location, after which the artist is named. Featured artists: Yilpirr Wanambi (dec), Wolpa Wanambi, Burŋanydji Gaykamaŋu, Yalanba Wanambi
@bukuartnow
With deep respect and admiration, we warmly congratulate Gaypalani Waṉambi on being awarded the 2026 Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Gaypalani made the following statement when she received the news this morning.
‘My father was a great artist and I learnt by his side. He made bark paintings, video and metal. He passed away too young and we miss him. We are descended from the Honey spirit Wuyal. He cut the tree at Gurka’wuy and the honey flowed to the sea.‘
This recognition honours Gaypalani’s enduring commitment to sharing her family’s stories and artistic legacy. We are humbled to see this achievement celebrated on such a significant stage and extend our heartfelt congratulations to Gaypalani, her family, and community. Thank you and congratulations to all the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman finalists and winners @artgalleryofnsw
We would also like to thanks the team @michaelreidsydney for their representation and dedication to supporting Gaypalani and her family.
Image: Gaypalani Waṉambi with her daughter Gemiah Marawili
Beautiful day yesterday opening ‘Guwarguwarmirri - Colours of the Rainbow’ at Tolarno Galleries, celebrating the work of sisters Djurrayun and Guruwuy Murrinyina.
The sisters wore scarves on the day, honouring the pioneering designs of their mother, Malaluba Gumana, whose presence was felt in spirit on the day.
Thanks to Tolarno for having us. The exhibition is now open until 16 May.
@tolarno
#bukuartnow #tolarnogalleries
Djurrayun and Guruwuy Murrinyina visit the ‘Mother’ exhibition and the Bark Salon at the NGV ahead of the sisters' exhibition at Tolarno Galleries tomorrow. ‘Mother’ features works by the sisters' famous ŋäṉḏi (mother) Malaluba Gumana in conversation with her daughter Guruwuy's work.
‘Guwarguwarmirri’ - Colours of the Rainbow - opens at 1pm tomorrow at Tolarno Galleries. Please feel welcome to join us.
@ngvmelbourne@tolarno
#bukuartnow
A special moment for six of our artist announced as finalists in the Wynne and Sulman prizes @artgalleryofnsw —warmest congratulations to Marrnyula Munuŋgurr, Dhalmula Burarrwanga, Wayilkpa Maymuru, Gaypalani Wanambi, Gutiŋarra Yunupingu, and Gunybi Ganambarr who appears in both Wynne and Sulman! Grateful to see these works and stories shared on this stage.
Now in it's final days: we invite you to experience a deeply resonant installation by Naminapu Maymuru-White at the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale in Saudi Arabia until 02 May.
A luminous expression of her Maŋgalili Clan’s connection to Milŋiyawuy, the Milky Way, and the Milŋiya River west of her homeland of Djarrakpi, Blue Mud Bay, the installation carries ancestral knowledge through reflection and presence.
@bukuartnow@contemporaryartbiennale_sa
Pictured: Courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, photo by Marco Cappelletti and Giuseppe Miotto, Marco Cappelletti Studio
So great to have the crew from @milingimbiartandculture visit this week! Sharing knowledge of bark harvesting and preparation, and diving into some digital archiving with the @mulkaproject team.
Pictured:
1. Dhamarrarr Munuŋgurr, Hetty Watts, David Yarrang Roy, Leon Milmurru, Weḏu Marika, Ŋalakan Waṉambi, Wurawuy Dhamarrandji with their freshly harvested Ṉuwayak
2. Gwen Warmbirrirr checking out the Mulka Archive
Happy International Women's Day in honour of a dearly missed matriarch and pure spirit of power and love. Thank you to @maianuku for your scholarship and genuine engagement with Yolŋu culture and people. Repost @metmuseum These final paintings of Yolŋu artist Noŋgirrŋa Marawili seamlessly combine tradition and innovation, pairing eucalyptus bark and natural pigments with recycled printer toner.
Join Maia Nuku, curator of Oceanic Art, in celebrating Marawili—a highly respected, senior female artist in our Arts of Oceania galleries.
In her innovative bark paintings, Marawili draws on her surrounding environment—enduring rocks and crashing waves—to evoke the elemental forces of the natural world, while revealing only the surface of a deeper story appropriate for non-Yolŋu audiences to see and know.
Marawili first learned to paint by assisting her late husband, Djutjadjutja Munuŋgurr, and in time went on to become a prominent artist in her own right, one of a series of strong matriarchs whose work draws on inherited designs from their fathers and grandfathers that reflect the culture, history and environment of their Country in northeast Arnhem Land.
Tap the link in bio to watch the full exhibition tour. #MetRockefellerWing #WomensHistoryMonth
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🎨 Noŋgirrŋa Marawili (Madarrpa clan, Yolŋu; Darrpirra, Arnhem Land, Australia ca. 1939-2023), “Baratjala,” 2023. Natural pigments and recycled print toner on eucalyptus bark.
🎨 Noŋgirrŋa Marawili (Madarrpa clan, Yolŋu; Darrpirra, Arnhem Land, Australia ca. 1939-2023), "Baratjala," 2022. Natural pigments and recycled printer toner on eucalyptus bark (E. tetrodonta).