Desert Mob to Gather Hundreds of Aboriginal Artists in 2023

Desert Mob, an annual event presenting works by Aboriginal artists, will return to the Araluen Arts Centre from 7 September to 22 October.

’Desert Mob is unique in presenting the Western Desert art which started the contemporary Indigenous art movement, and in showcasing what is happening with it right now,’ festival producer Carmel Young told The Sydney Morning Herald prior to last year’s event.

‘It’s a survey of contemporary art featuring established artists, and also key in launching the careers of emerging artists,’ she said.

This year, 35 community Art Centres from Australia’s Red Centre (so named because of the iconic colouring of its iron oxide-rich sands and sandstone) are taking part.

The event is presented by Desart, the Association of Central Australian Aboriginal Art Centres, who has owned it since 2022. Desart is governed by a 10-member Aboriginal executive committee that services an area of 1.2 million square kilometres and represents some 8,000 artists.

The exhibition will be co-curated by Hetti Kemarr Perkins (Arrernte and Kalkadoon) and Aspen Nampin Beattie (Luritja, Warumungu and Yawuru).

The Desert Mob symposium will also include presentations of ceramics by Hermannsburg Potters, thoughts on connecting to country by Warlayirti Artists, and short films from Tjanpi Desert Weavers.

A marketplace comprising 30 stalls will feature paintings, ceramics, woodwork, weaving, sculpture, textiles, and clothing. —[O]

Main image: Connection to Country camp, Wilkinkarra, 2022. Photo by Tibor Hegedis. Courtesy Warlayirti Artists.