Central Australian artists witness collective’s Indigenous designs hitting fashion runways in Europe

[ad_1]

Two Indigenous artists from a remote community in Central Australia have travelled across the globe to witness their designs being showcased on fashion runways in London and Paris.

Artists Keturah Zimran and Roseranna Larry from Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff), 230 kilometres west of Alice Springs in the spectacular West MacDonnell Ranges are members of the local art collective, Ikuntji Artists, the first art centre established for women of the western desert art movement.

two Indigenous woman wearing colourful t-shirts standing on blocks with their arms raised in front of the Louvre in Paris — Roseranna Larry (left) and Keturah Zimran at the Louvre in Paris.(Supplied: Chrischona Schmidt)

Since its inception in 1992, Ikuntji Artists has grown from a space for local women to participate in T-shirt printing workshops to become the home of world-renowned textiles.

Loading Instagram content

The collective, which represents more than 100 local artists, works with galleries, retailers and art fairs within Australia and internationally.

Zimran has previously travelled to Germany and Switzerland for her art. She also attended Australian Fashion Week in Sydney earlier this year.

“I’m really, really happy about my designs and my paintings,” she told ABC Radio Darwin, just hours before boarding a flight to Paris.

“I’m so proud for my career.”

Until this trip to Europe, Larry had never seen her designs on the runway.

“I feel like I am really excited and really proud of myself … this is going to be very, very special,” Larry said.

Larry’s designs are depictions of her grandmother’s dreaming.

“My grandmother should be alive to hear me, that I’m travelling to Paris,” she said.

“My memory and my spirit are still there … [I’m going to] make them proud.”

Two Indigenous women in colourful t-shirts pose in front of the Eiffel Tower — Roseranna Larry (left) is a Walpiri and Luritja woman, while Keturah Zimran is from the Arrernte, Luritja and Pintupi nations.(Supplied: Chrischona Schmidt)

Among the influential figures that have worn Ikuntji designs are pop star Jessica Mauboy, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Australian comedian Celeste Barber.

Loading Instagram content

Barber wore an Alice Nampitjinpa Dixon design, sewn by Indriani Tungka, to the Australian premiere of Elvis in June.

The comedian coincidentally bumped into Zimran and Larry at the Louvre in Paris, sharing happy photos of the meeting to social media.

The artists’ European tour coincided with the September book release of Ikuntji Textiles at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.

Art centre manager Chrischona Schmidt led crowd-funding efforts to raise $20,000 to cover the cost of printing the books.

“The book shows the development of all the textile designs and how it went from little T-shirt printing workshops to now being on national and international stages,” Ms Schmidt said.

The artists’ collective has previously had success with artworks printed on fabric for Gorman clothing, along with commercial collaborations with fabric merchants.

The school is famous for its bold colour choices and decisive brush strokes.

[ad_2]