Desart

Desart Supporting Aboriginal art centres to provide autonomy, sustained growth and stability in Central Australian Aboriginal Communities.

15/09/2026

Celebrating 50 years of land rights through art, story and culture during the opening week of Desert Mob.

The Vincent Lingiari Art Award was created to honour the leadership, courage and strength of Mr Lingiari and all our old people who fought for their land and water.

"The entries tell powerful stories about all that we have protected," said CLC chair Warren Williams on opening night.

"To all the artists who entered this year: congratulations and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your art lifts us up and inspires us to keep fighting for our families. We hope it will reach those in power who might otherwise be out of reach."

The opening week also featured an artist talks panel hosted by CLC general manager Dr Josie Douglas, and the premiere of our new film documenting the fight for land rights from the 1970s to today.

The Vincent Lingiari Art Award exhibition is on now at the Araluen Arts Centre, catch the exhibition before it closes October 18.

Moving conversations, stories, film and music filled the Araluen Arts Centre theatre yesterday at what was an incredible...
12/09/2026

Moving conversations, stories, film and music filled the Araluen Arts Centre theatre yesterday at what was an incredible day of Artist Talks and a special celebration of the 50th anniversary of land rights!

Desert Mob continues today with the bustling Desert Mob Art Market starting at 10AM at the Araluen Arts Centre precinct.

The art market is free to attend and will feature over 30 art centres selling paintings, ceramics, punu, weavings, sculptures, textiles and more.

Join artists from Yarrenyty Arltere Artists from 11am for a free soft sculpture workshop. Inspired by the much-loved soft sculptures created at the art centre, get creative using recycled and hand-stitched materials to your own special artworks.

Our presenting partners 8CCC Community Radio 102.1fm - Alice Springs & Tennant Creek will be broadcasting live with interviews and performances by Tommy Gunn Hargraves, Alice Kings, DJ Graham Jnr, and Fejo & The Cruizers.

Food and great coffee will be available too. Remember to bring along your drink bottle to take advantage of the refill station generously provided by Power and Water, which helps us reduce waste.

This is a free event open to all the community.

Plan your morning and learn more at www.desertmob.com

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Images: Desert Mob 2026 Artist Talks at the Araluen Arts Centre. All images by Sara Maiorino (). Courtesy Desart.

11/09/2026

Some action shots from the Desert Mob opening in Mparntwe, celebrating 50 years of land rights and the power of art.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney for winning the Vincent Lingiari Art Award, and Joseph Williams Jungarrayi for winning the CLC Delegates Choice Award.

You can check out all the artworks in the 2026 Vincent Lingiari Art Award at the Araluen Arts Centre until 18 October 2026. In the words of Desart chief executive Philip Watkins, “their art makes lore and culture visible.”

CLC chair Warren Williams thanks all the artists from across Central Australia who entered works.

“Your art lifts us up and inspires us to keep fighting for our families,” he said.

At the Artist Talks today, we heard CLC general manager Josie Douglas, Vincent Lingiari’s granddaughter Rosie Smiler, Desart CEO Philip Watkins, writer and academic Marcia Langton AO, artists and Singleton native title holders Lindy Brodie and Heather Anderson speak about the history of land rights and the role of art in this fight. They also spoke about the High Court’s decision to stop the Singleton Station water licence and how the battle for water rights has only just begun.

We hope everyone enjoys Desert Mob this weekend!

What a magical evening on Arrernte Country! ✨ A sincere thank you to everyone who joined us last night for the official ...
10/09/2026

What a magical evening on Arrernte Country! ✨

A sincere thank you to everyone who joined us last night for the official opening of Desert Mob 2026 and celebration of the Vincent Lingiari Art Award. Thank you to Elaine Kngwarraye Peckham, Desart Board Committee Member, Tanya Singer, Desart CEO, Philip Watkins, Central Land Council Chair, Warren Williams, and Minister Jinson Charls for their official opening of Desert Mob. We'd also like to sincerely thank the Vincent Lingiari family representatives, Trisha Smiler and Rosie Smiler and all artists and art centres who joined us in celebration. From the buzz of the gallery atmosphere to the expansive sounds of Eleanor Jawurlngali, we hope you all had a wonderful night!

The Vincent Lingiari Art Award and Desert Mob exhibitions can be viewed at the Araluen Arts Centre from 10AM – 4PM daily with free entry to the gallery all weekend.

Can’t see the exhibition in person? View and purchase works online here: https://desertmob.com/

The Desert Mob 2026 program continues today with Artist Talks commencing from 10am at the Araluen Arts Centre. Tickets available on the door (catered lunch sold out).

The popular art market is also back from 10am tomorrow with live broadcast from our presenting partners, 8CCC Community Radio 102.1fm - Alice Springs & Tennant Creek. There'll be live music from Tommy Gunn Hargraves, Alice Kings and Fejo & The Cruizers and delicious food and coffee to keep you going throughout the day! Remember to bring along your drink bottle to take advantage of the refill station generously provided by Power and Water, which helps us reduce waste.

View the full program of events including satellite exhibitions at www.desertmob.com or pick up a program at local coffee shops and galleries across Mparntwe.

Image captions: Desert Mob 2026 Official Opening Night. All images by Sara Maiorino (), courtesy Desart.

Congratulations to Joseph Williams Jungarrayi of Nyinkka Nyunyu Art & Culture Centre who has won the $2,000 Central Land...
10/09/2026

Congratulations to Joseph Williams Jungarrayi of Nyinkka Nyunyu Art & Culture Centre who has won the $2,000 Central Land Council Delegates Choice Award as part of the 2026 Vincent Lingiari Art Award for his painting, Three Brothers.

Vincent Lingiari’s granddaughter Rosie Smiler joined the elected members of the Central Land Council at Kalkaringi as they voted for the Delegates Choice Award last month.

Joseph is a cultural leader and Warumungu translator who works for the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre.

“Three Brothers is a reflection on country, memory and ancestral presence, expressed through the surface of a colonial mine map.

By working directly onto this map, I reclaim it, transforming a document that once marked extraction and disruption into one that carries culture, story and identity.

Fifty years on from land rights, this work speaks to reclamation – of land, of narrative and of identity. It honours the enduring presence of ancestors and recognises that our stories are still embedded in country, no matter how it has been mapped, divided or used.”
- Joseph Williams Jungarrayi

View all works in person at the Araluen Arts Centre or online at: https://desertmob.com/vlaa-exhibition/

The 2026 Vincent Lingiari Art Award is open daily at the Araluen Arts Centre until 18th October 2026.

Images: 1. Joseph Williams Jungarrayi, Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre, Three Brothers 2025, synthetic polymer paint and charcoal on archival mining map, 88 x 119.5 cm, framed. Photo by Fiona Morrison, courtesy Desart. 2. Joseph Williams Jungarrayi of Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre at Desert Mob 2025. Photo Sara by Maiorino (), courtesy Desart.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney of Artists of Ampilatwatja who has won the prestigious $10,000 Vincent Lin...
10/09/2026

Congratulations to Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney of Artists of Ampilatwatja who has won the prestigious $10,000 Vincent Lingiari Art Award celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act for her painting, My grandmother’s country.

For many years the traditional healer painted together with her mother Eileen Bonney, one of the founders of Artists of Ampilatwatja and the last of the original claimants of the Wakaya Alyawarre land claim that was handed back only last year.

“My mother has been fighting for this land for 40 years, one of the longest standing land claims in the Northern Territory, and now she is passing it over. So we can pass it over to our children.

My mother had to fight because this was her mother’s country. My great-great grandfather’s country is Arlenkw. My grandfather’s mother’s country is Titjambera. My great-grandmother’s country is Arene.

When I was young I would go to this country with my mother. I take my daughter and grandchildren to this country. This land holds stories and when we are there, we feel them.

I paint to keep my country alive, so we can know and teach our young ones, our grandchildren.”

- Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney

The winning landscape painting depicts country approximately 325 kilometres northeast of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) that holds stories and memories for the artist.

This is the fourth time the Central Land Council and Desart have joined forces to present the award and the first time two judges chose the winner among a record 56 entries.

Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory curator Rebekah Raymond and the Strehlow Research Centre’s Joel Liddle had the tough task of deciding which entry best responds to this year’s theme Our country, our culture: 50 years of land rights. They chose the winning work because it so beautifully reflects a deep connection to country, a connection that is timeless and ever present. They talked about how it felt like they could walk right into the artwork; the artist made it feel so true and that they could be there standing with them in their beautiful desert country.

View all works in person at the Araluen Arts Centre or online at: https://desertmob.com/vlaa-exhibition/

The 2026 Vincent Lingiari Art Award is open daily at the Araluen Arts Centre until 18th October 2026.

Images: 1. Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney, Artists of Ampilatwatja, My grandmother’s country 2025, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 154 x 152.5 cm. Photo by Fiona Morrison. Courtesy Desart. 2-3. Elizabeth Ngwarraye Bonney working on her VLAA winning work, My grandmother’s country 2025. Courtesy Artists of Ampilatwatja.

10/09/2026

Desert Mob 2026 officially opens TOMORROW NIGHT! ✨

“We are proud to present Desert Mob again in 2026 and the work of artists who walk in the footsteps of their forebears and forge a pathway for others to follow. As any visitor to Desert Mob will know, the innumerable artworks by the many thousands of Central Australian artists over 35 years literally and creatively share common ground. Known by many names in this vast region of many languages, country means the same thing to us. Our artists tell the truth. Our land is our life.” - Philip Watkins, Desart CEO

Join us for a special celebration marking the 50th anniversary of land rights as the Araluen Arts Centre comes alive with contemporary Aboriginal art, music and culture from across the Central Desert region.

At 5pm the Araluen Galleries open for a preview of the 35th edition of Desert Mob and the Vincent Lingiari Art Award exhibitions - and the exclusive opportunity to acquire works from both exhibitions before they go live online Friday morning.

This year, the Desert Mob Exhibition presents hundreds of incredible new works from emerging and established artists across over 30 Aboriginal-governed community art centres.

Here are some important details if you’re joining us tomorrow night:
• Opening of the Desert Mob 2026 Exhibition commences at 5PM at the Araluen Arts Centre.

• Official Opening proceedings commence from 6PM with Welcome to Country, and the prestigious Vincent Lingiari Art Award and the CLC Delegates’ Choice Award will be announced and presented to the winning artists by special guests, Lingiari family representatives, Rosie Smiler and Trisha Smiler, and CLC Chair, Warren Williams

• Following the official opening, join us for a live music, delicious food and beverages.

• All exhibition works are available to purchase on the evening with the exclusive opportunity to meet with artists, art centres and Desert Mob curators.

• The exhibition will go live online from 9am, Friday 11 September (ACST) at www.desertmob.com

• The opening night is for the entire community and is free to attend – no ticket required.

• Following the opening night, the exhibition is open 10AM - 4PM (ACST) daily at the Araluen Arts Centre with free entry over the opening weekend.

For more information regarding venue accessibility and to plan your Desert Mob attendance, head to www.desertmob.com/visit-us/

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Filmed on Arrernte, Western Aranda, Warumungu, Kaytetye and Alyawarr countries. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Our deepest gratitude to artists and staff of Hermannsburg Potters, Tjanpi Desert Weavers, Iwantja Arts, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists, Ernabella Arts, Papunya Tjupi, Ltyentye Apurte Traditional Craft Centre and other participants of Desert Mob.

Our immense thanks to Rayella for use of the song My Country, from their self-titled album, Rayella.

Videography by Sara Maiorino (), Jesse Tyssen Film () and James Cubillo (). Editing by Sara Maiorino.

Desert Mob is presented by Desart and supported by the NT Government through Arts NT, Tourism and Events NT, and the Community Benefit Fund, Creative Australia, and the Australian Government’s Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Strategy and the Visual Arts and Crafts Strategy.

[Website access notice: Some users may currently receive a false security warning when accessing the Desert Mob website. We’re aware of the issue and are working to resolve it. We apologise for any inconvenience. Please access the website via mobile data in the meantime if this is affecting you.]

10/09/2026

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The 2026 Vincent Lingiari Art Award is on now at the Araluen Arts Centre!Presented by Desart and the Central Land Counci...
07/09/2026

The 2026 Vincent Lingiari Art Award is on now at the Araluen Arts Centre!

Presented by Desart and the Central Land Council, the Vincent Lingiari Art Award celebrates the momentous 50th anniversary of the passing of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976 through this year’s exhibition theme Our Country, Our Culture: 50 Years of Land Rights.

Join us this Thursday 10 September for the announcement of the winners of the Vincent Lingiari Art Award major prize and the Central Land Council’s Delegates Choice Award alongside the 2026 Desert Mob opening night celebrations.

Be sure to cast your vote for the Desart People’s Choice Award by Sunday 18 October either in person or online at: https://shorturl.at/2dWV9

Learn more about the stories behind the art and the land rights movement at Desert Mob Artist Talks with special panel and film screening by Central Land Council. Tickets on sale now: https://events.humanitix.com/desert-mob-artist-talks

The Vincent Lingiari Art Award is open daily from 10am – 4pm at the Araluen Arts Centre, Mparntwe/Alice Springs and viewable online at https://desertmob.com/vlaa-exhibition/

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Images: Vincent Lingiari Art Award 2026 exhibition at the Araluen Arts Centre. Photography by Fiona Morrison. Courtesy the artists and Desart.

ART CENTRE JOB OPPORTUNITY 🔆Arlpwe Art and Culture Centre - Studio Coordinator📍 Ali Curung, NT | Kaytetye Country | Cent...
07/09/2026

ART CENTRE JOB OPPORTUNITY 🔆

Arlpwe Art and Culture Centre - Studio Coordinator
đź“Ť Ali Curung, NT | Kaytetye Country | Central Australia

Want to work with artists doing big things?
Arlpwe is looking for a Studio Coordinator to join our team and work alongside an extraordinary group of Aboriginal artists and Elders.

Our artists are winning awards, exhibiting nationally and internationally, and building serious momentum across the Australian art world. Now we’re gearing up for the next round of major exhibitions + art fairs — and we want you in the studio with us.

✨ Artist-led
✨ Community-owned
✨ Culturally grounded
✨ Big things happening

$60K–$85K p.a. + allowances & entitlements
Start date negotiable

If you’re creative, organised, hands-on and genuinely excited by contemporary Aboriginal art, we want to hear from you.

Learn more and apply at: https://desart.com.au/job-opportunity/studio-coordinator-arlpwe-art-culture-centre-2/

Applications close 5PM (ACST) 2 October 2026.

Images: 1. Lincoln Corbett in the Arlpwe Studio. 2. Jessie Simpson with artworker Jaclyn Holmes. All images courtesy Arlpwe Art and Culture.

Address

11/54 Arthur Gallagher Centre, Reg Harris Lane (Todd Mall)
Alice Springs, NT
0870

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

0889534736

Website

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