Ikuntji Artists · Projects
Ikuntji Artists has been part of the Indigenous Jewellery Project since 2014 - an innovative way to develop and upskill jewellers from remote Indigenous communities.
Watch: artists from Haasts Bluff (Ikuntji) speak about making jewellery for the first time.
The Indigenous Jewellery Project (IJP) is the first nation-wide Indigenous Australian contemporary jewellery project, working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned art centres across the country. It was established by curator Emily McCulloch Childs, working alongside contemporary jewellers Kate Rohde and Melinda Young. The project brings together research, workshops, photography, film and exhibitions, and by 2025 had engaged around 150 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jewellers nationally, including artists from Ikuntji Artists.
Ikuntji Artists hosted a week-long intensive jewellery workshop as part of the project, led by resin artist and Pieces of Eight jeweller Kate Rohde alongside curator Emily McCulloch Childs, focusing on resin and silver jewellery techniques.
Alison Napurrula Multa Panjiti, Virginia Ngalaia, Aaron Kingsley, Walter Jugadai, Gordon Butcher, Macy Jugadai, Benita Multa, Raphina Multa, Marilyn Jack, Claudia Marshall and Serianne Butcher took part.
"Each artist took their traditional punu (carving), ceramics and jewellery skills and made casts, which were then created into contemporary coloured resins."
The resulting pieces are contemporary fine art jewellery inspired by animals, landscape, carvings and regional stories. Filmmaker Dan Coutts made a documentary short about the project, and the collection has been exhibited at Pieces of Eight Gallery in Melbourne with national touring. Work from the project is available through Edition X and the Ikuntji Artists website.
Ikuntji Artists joined Ernabella Arts for Jewellery Has Always Been Here, an exhibition curated by Emily McCulloch Childs at JamFactory. The show featured pieces drawing on native plant forms - Puntu, Pura, Mulga and Ngaru among them - and was supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts SA.
"In our old days, they used hair strings for putting beads, beads, before plastic strings. And we got some necklaces, bracelets at our art centre."
"It was so new to us."
"I learned new things in this workshop, jewellery workshop."
"Colours, like we do painting in our colours."
"I do painting stars at night, night sky, jewellery, star, necklace, star and necklace and ring, trees around, normal tree in a creek bed. Trees, seeds, it's normal trees, grows in the bush."
"We could learn from our grandmother, grandfathers sitting near the fire. Nowadays kids learn in a school, learning in a computer."
Alison Napurrula Multa Panjiti
Congratulations to every Ikuntji artist who has taken part in the Indigenous Jewellery Project since 2014 - carrying carving, ceramics and painting knowledge into a new material, and making something entirely their own.
Witira Kanyila. Work as one. Keep it strong.
