Warning: Our website contains some images of artwork by a recently deceased person, that may cause sadness or distress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Out of respect we have used the name Kwementyay, a substitute name for the name of the deceased.
Mbantua Magazine
The 2009 Mbantua Gallery Magazine is now ready for delivery. For those of you on our Magazine mailing list, this great publication will soon be arriving on your doorstep! Thanks to Field and Research Manager Dale Jennings for putting this colorful magazine together. It has a great centrefold of a painting by Minnie Pwerle, news on our happenings this year at the Gallery and lots of little snippets of information about what is going on in the community of Utopia and in our artist's lives. If you are not on the mailing list already but would like to receive this magazine in the mail please fill out your details here.
Events: Mbantua Gallery can provide an exciting venue for many events including dinners, cocktails. opening nights, meetings and art and culture educational programs. Please contact us for further details.
Come and explore Utopia with us. More than a dozen small aboriginal outstations flank a 100km stretch of the Sandover River north east of Alice Springs. Referred to collectively as the Utopia Region, a large portion of this land was reclaimed by its traditional owners after over 50 years of pastoral occupation. Home to around 1000 aboriginal people, around 25% of Utopia's population are artists.
If you purchase a work of art from us through this website and without having seen it in person, we guarantee to refund in full the cost of the artwork if you decide not to keep it within 10 days of receiving it.
Browse through our online sales Gallery which has over 400 paintings.
Did You Know.....
Sacred Sites:
Sacred Sites are spirit centres for aboriginal people as well as animals and plants. Concentric circles are often used to represent a sacred site in mythology.
Anwekety (Conkerberry)
Some of our artists paint the 'Anwekety' or 'Conkerberry' story. Find out more about the conkerberry from our Utopia Art website.
Initiation:
Initiation permits a person to knowledge of the past, such as mythology and dreamtime stories, and to share in the embodiment of the ancestors.
Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery
and Cultural Museum
Mission Statement
'Our Mission is to continue to promote Aboriginal art and culture, to learn as much as possible, to assist where possible and to work in harmony with the traditional aboriginal people in Central Australia to keep their culture alive'.
History
Specializing in aboriginal art from Utopia in Central Australia for over 20 years, we have developed a wonderful rapport with the traditional people of Utopia. We began as an offshoot of Mbantua Store, a general store that is now part of Alice Springs history. For many years the store had a small aboriginal art section which became the foundation of our gallery. Now we are the largest art gallery in Alice Springs and we are recognized worldwide. We were chosen as the aboriginal art representatives for HRH the Prince of Wales' 2005 Australia tour and continue to work with documentary makers and journalists on aboriginal life and art.
We have an established finance department, field and research department, framing department, photographic unit, artist workshop and our very own Cultural Museum which opened in 2005.
In May 2007 we officially opened our second Gallery, the Mbantua Fine Art Gallery, which is located in the Darwin Mall, 2/30 Smith St.
Mbantua Fine Art Gallery - Darwin
2/30 The Mall
Darwin, Northern Territory 0800 Australia
Phone: 08 8941 6611
0419
830 934
From overseas: +61 8 8941 6611
