Art Communities

Imangara is a community of 15 houses set in a semi-desert landscape that is crisscrossed with watercourses, rocky hills and barren outcrops. When the land receives significant rain it transforms into a vibrant escarpment, set against the hues of trees, rocks and hills. At these times the waterholes connect up and at times flood across the country.

The community residents are from the northern-most reaches of the Alyawarra language group in Central Australia. They live in the Barkley region near the Davenport ranges and are all related through four clan groups. They have some contact with southern Alyawarra communities but in the main live in their own district.

Stories from the community reveal how families at Imangara share the same unique bond to their land, maintained through hunting, collecting bushtucker and medicines, storytelling and ceremonial rights and obligations. The four generations living at Imangara have experienced the complete transformation of Aboriginal society- from elders who led a nomadic existence, the first meetings with white people, the mission era, the stolen generation and the younger people who now experience both traditional culture and the modern world. The community is largely run by four strong women elders who seek to keep the community healthy and active.

Road to Imangara

The area around