In the Beginning: Paintings by Senior Artists of the Spinifex Arts Project

In 1997, artists from Tjuntjuntjara in the desert of Western Australia, formed the Spinifex Arts Project. Their goal was to create art that would serve as evidence in their legal battle to reclaim their land. Thanks to a generous gift, you can now view many of these pieces in a new exhibition titled "In the Beginning: Paintings by Senior Artists of the Spinifex Arts Project" on display at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia. In this episode, we learn about the Spinifex Arts Project and the pieces in the exhibition from its curator, Katina Davidson. 

Simon Hogan painting. Photo by Amanda Dent courtesy of Spinifex Arts Project

More information about the exhibition and Kluge Ruhe: https://kluge-ruhe.org/exhibition/in-the-beginning-paintings-by-senior-artists-of-the-spinifex-arts-project/#exhibition