Streets of Papunya
The re-invention of Papunya painting
Vivien Johnson
New South
Papunya is a small Indigenous community north west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, the birthplace of the Papunya Tula Art Movement in 1971. Vivien Johnson, writer, sociologist and art expert with a particular interest in the Western Desert, presents a captivating portrait of Papunya, its community, the old masters including Albert Namatjira, and the Papunya Tjupi art centre; how it came to be and the challenges it faced to become the flourishing centre for practicing Papunya artists that it is today. Many of the women artists are the daughters of the original revolutionary Papunya Tula artists of the 1970s. Aglow with colourful imagery, photographs and the Papunya Family Tree, this is a compelling insight into the story of the Papunya artists of the far north.
