Papunya Tula: Genesis and genius

Papunya Genesis and Genius is the first major exhibition of Aboriginal art tracing the phenomena of the Papunya Tula movement from the early 1970s to the present. This exhibition is part of the Gallery's contribution to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival. The Western Desert art movement, which originated in the small community of Papunya, some 250kms west of Alice Springs, has placed Aboriginal art - and, some would say, Australian art - firmly in the international arena. It is appropriate to acknowledge and celebrate this contribution to Australian art at a time when the world's attention will be drawn to Sydney. Comprising approximately 150 paintings, Papunya Genesis and Genius will chart the development of this exceptional art movement through its most outstanding works. This story will be told by the period's leading artists who will each be represented by their key paintings. The paintings in this exhibition have been drawn from major public collections as well as private collections within Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Holland and the United States of America. Papunya Tula Artists was established by a small group of Aboriginal artists in 1971, following the work of school teacher Geoffrey Bardon in encouraging the children at Papunya to create art using the motifs and symbols of their own traditions. This initiative was seized upon by the senior men of the community who firstly painted a mural of the local Honey Ant Dreaming on the school wall and then began making small paintings of their Tjukurrpa (ancestral stories) on any available surface. However, their efforts were initially ignored by the market and the movement experienced difficult times in its first decade.