Haasts Bluff _ Mt Liebig

Haasts Bluff is a small community, located west of Alice Springs and is home to the Luritja people. The people of Haasts Bluff are closely related to the people of Papunya, the Aboriginal community near Alice Springs where the contemporary Australian indigenous art movement first begun in the early 1970’s under the guidance of Geoffrey Bardon now deceased and the people of this area have many Western Arrente and Pintupi family connections. Communities evolved over time and is home to artists such as Ningura Napurrula and Wulungkurra Napanangka who have established significant international profiles for their distinctive painting styles. Ningurra was one of 10 artists selected for their work to be represented in the Musee de Quay Branley in Paris. Australian indigenous artists represented at the Museum include Paddy Bedford (East Kimberley), John Mawurndjul (Arnhem Land), Ningura Napurrula (Haasts Bluff), Lena Nyadbi (East Kimberley), Michael Riley (urban), Judy Watson Napangardi (urban), Tommy Watson (Papunya) and Gulumbu Yunupingu (Yirrkala). In the case of Ningura Napurrula, her signature black and white motif appear superimposed on the ceiling of the administration side of the museum's building.

Watulka is south of Kiwikurra, located near the Northern Territory border in the Pilbara. Many Indigenous artists, primarily associated with the Pintupi people were moved out of the desert as cattle stations and development became the focus where ever available water was found. Today, there is a distinct move back to the traditional lands in these remote areas, away from the disfunction that life in remote towns has at times delivered. There are a number of prominent Indigenous artists of whom a large proportion are women. Ningura Napurrula is one and so distinct in her depiction of important rockhole and ceremony sites.

Desert artist's paintings respond to important sites and their ancestral stories which are described in subtle and vibrant palettes of colour that are also a reflection of the forms and hues of their country.