Project History

8 August 2009 marked fifty years since  internationally acclaimed watercolour artist and Western Aranda man, Albert Namatjira, passed away. The Namatjira project is a celebration of his life and legacy: it is a creative community development project, an original, critically acclaimed  theatrical work, and accompanying touring watercolour exhibitions.

The project is run by award winning arts and social change company, Big hART. It emerged as a legacy to the Ngapartji Ngapartji project, through which we have worked with Indigenous communities in the Central Desert region since 2005. The Namatjira story came to the attention of writer/director Scott Rankin as a result of working with Elton Wirri, a a kinship grandson of Albert’s. Elton, now 21, has worked on Ngapartji Ngapartji since he was 14 years old, and toured the country with the performance piece, receiving applause from audiences for his chalk drawings depicting Western Aranda landscapes.

Elton Wirri creating the scenic landscape during Namatjira at Belvoir, Sydney 2010.

The project consists of ongoing creative development workshops with Artists from the Namatjira watercolour tradition, and their families and friends. The workshops include facilitated storytelling sessions, on-country painting trips, performance and leadership workshops. Early in the project we presented a Celebration of the Life of Albert Namatjira, which involved the theatrical work-in-progress, songs from the Ntaria Ladies Choir and Archie Roach, as well as a preview of the accompanying watercolour exhibition, at the Araluen Centre, Alice Springs on the 7th and 8th of August, 2010.

From there, the show Namatjira moved on to premier at Sydney’s Belvoir Street Theatre, in September 2010, co-produced by Company B, one of Australia’s leading theatre companies and most prestigious venues. The  season sold out and was a huge critical success, check out our media page for reviews. The accompanying watercolour exhibition was so popular at Sydney’s Birrung Gallery that Big hART was compelled to schedule a second exhibition at Damien Minton Annex Gallery. Due to the huge success of the 2010 premier season, Namatjira then embarked on a 9 week tour in 2011, through Melbourne, Geelong, Dandenong, Canberra. Wollongong and Lismore.

The Namatjira project is made in partnership with Ngurratjuta Many Hands Art Centre, which represents many of Albert Namatjira’s descendants, including six of the eight members of his family who toured as part of the cast of Namatjira. They were: Lenie Namatjira, Betty Wheeler, Mostyn Kantilja, Ivy Pareroultja, Kevin Namatjira, Gloria Pannka,  Hilary Wirri, and Elton Wirri.

Big hART is adamant that the project work to the benefit of the Namatjira family and is constantly working towards ensuring the positive outcomes of the project are sustainable and ongoing.