Nginingawula Jilamara Ngirramini kapi Jurra | Our Art Stories on Paper: Printmaking at Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association

Nginingawula Jilamara Ngirramini kapi Jurra highlights both the enduring legacy of printmaking at Jilamara Arts & Crafts Association and artists’ contemporary innovations. The history of Jilamara begins with printmaking. The popularity of printed textile designs by Raelene Kerinauia, Raelene Cook, Maxine Daniels, and Isobel Marego led to the establishment of Jilamara as an art center in 1989. The printmaking studio, now managed by Raylene Miller, continues as an important site for cultural continuity and innovation.

Michelle Palutuwayu Woody Minnapinni produced the print Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (2026) during her artist residency in Charlottesville. Woody used natural ochres from her Country to screenprint a complex seven-screen composition of her jilamara (ceremonial body paint design). As the centerpiece of this exhibition, her screenprint illustrates how bringing the old and the new together is the vehicle through which Tiwi culture moves forward.

This exhibition features works by both the old and the new generation of Tiwi printmakers. The process of printmaking, inherently collaborative in its structure, facilitates intergenerational mentorship in Tiwi art practices.