Art Communities

Utopia is located 270 km northeast of Alice Springs on the eastern perimeter of the Western Desert ‘bloc’, next to the traditional land of the Eastern Anmatyarre and Alyawarre people. It was named by the first white settlers in 1927 and occupies 1800 square kilometres of desert country

When Europeans first settled in Utopia, the Aboriginal people were forced to move away from their clan lands and ceremonial sites and instead lived in the vicinity of the various homesteads. Many Aboriginal men worked as stockmen and Aboriginal women as domestic help in exchange for rations of foodstuffs and clothing. It wasn’t until 1967 that legislation was passed allowing Aborigines to be paid as much as their white counterparts.

In 1979 a successful land claim hearing resulted in the community gaining permanent legal title to the leasehold, and it was the Utopia women that played a key role. Only one year before, the women had learned the art of batik. The Batik project was to enable the women to establish a source of income in preparation for the land claim hearing. By being able to demonstrate the economic viability of the outstations through their batik, the women were justifying their legal and moral right to their land.

The Utopia batiks were immediately distinct and featured a rawness and vitality that was a product from both the camp conditions and the women’s attitude to the project. in 1981 Utopia batiks were shown at the Adelaide Art Festival – “Floating Forests of Silk: Utopia Batik from the Desert”.

In 1987 CAAMA took over the running of the Utopia artists and in 1988 commissioned a number of batiks. Eighty-eight batiks were presented which then served as the opening exhibition at the new Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide in October 1988. The exhibition later toured to Ireland and then it was purchased by the Robert Holmes a Court Collection.

In 1988-89 the medium of canvas was introduced to the artists. An exhibition titled “Summer Project: Utopia Women’s Paintings” was mounted. It consisted of one hundred small canvases of all the same size and using four basic colours- black, white, yellow, and red ochre. This exhibition was held at the S.H.Ervin Gallery in Sydney and immediately raised awareness of the inherent talent the Utopia artists possess.

The availability of acrylic paint and linen canvas enabled artists to produce works that were even more distinctive than the batik. This new medium saw the rise of the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye who paved the way in the more contemporary art form. Others followed such as Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre, Barbara Weir, Nancy Petyarre, Ada Bird and others. To this date, Utopia paintings are highly recognised and sought after and continue to grow in richness and variety.

Digging for Yams	Mountain Devil Lizard
Rocky Hill at Utopia Sunset	Utopia Scenery