Mardbalk cruising into arts tourism

James Gurruwiwi, Linda Najinga, Sandra Makurlngu, Lyn Narlbidgrra, Steve Westley and Brenda Westley outside the vibrant Mardbalk Arts Centre on Warruwi.

DROP in to the Mardbalk Arts Centre on any given day and you’ll discover a hive of activity. Kids and dogs are coming and going, and there is a constant stream of new artworks and sales. You’ll find local Mawng artists preparing barks for painting, bending and binding bamboo into frames, weaving pandanus, carving and sculpting, carefully laying down the fine cross-hatching on paintings, or helping hang and catalogue artworks.

More recently we’ve seen an art competition, with new displays going up, and – most recently – a visit from a cruise ship which generated revenue and interest in arts centre. On Monday, 7 April, a cruise ship weighed anchor off the island, ferrying in a group of tourists and art buyers from South Africa, the Americas, New Zealand, and of course the rest of Australia.

Mardbalk Arts Centre is a cultural hub in the small community of Warruwi on South Goulburn Island. And although small, it punches well above its weight when it comes to authentic Aboriginal art.

"The local artists will carve these dugongs that are so beautiful they just want to swim out of your hands."

In January, the West Arnhem Regional Council took on new managers with Brenda Westley and her husband Steve arriving from Darwin. Brenda manages the centre while her husband Steve takes on a variety of roles, likening what he does to a ‘field assistant’.

“In my eyes I work for the artists, whatever their needs – health, materials, promotion – they are the priority,” Steve says. “We just look after the finer details of running the arts centre. But it’s for the local people to lead the way. I can take artists out on bush trips, assist them with access to a motor car and tools, and help them understand what is wanted from the overseas market. It’s good to keep people enthused to ensure something is coming in daily.

"Ladies want pandanus and bush dyes, or we might go out with the men to cut and straighten a bark, or source some timber for carving – the local artists will carve these dugongs that are so beautiful they just want to swim out of your hands."

James Gurrwiwi cuts a bark from country near the old cattle yards on Warruwi. The bark will be straightened and dried ready for painting.

“All the materials are available from the bush – whether it’s bark, bush string, natural pigments or fibres. My real push is to support artists with natural materials and ochres, rather than use acrylic paints and canvas.”

With a long and distinguished careers in remote art centres, and with their son Brando enrolled at Warruwi School, the Westley family have taken to the island like turtles to water.

“We have worked in many art centres, including 13-and-ahalf years on Elcho Island, and have travelled all over the world with Indigenous art,” Brenda explains. She says the next stage is to develop a database, enter every item, and build an online website and outlet.

Alongside the fresh works displayed on the walls of Mardbalk Arts are replicas of a rich and diverse collection of material held at the Berndt Museum. From June to December last year, the museum exhibited “Big Stories: Gossip Songs of Western Arnhem Land”. The exhibition examines the relationships between people, country and stories through the ‘gossip songs’ of Mawng and Kunwinjku language groups. There are historical photos, sound recordings, musical instruments and unique bark paintings. The items were acquired by Ronald and Catherine Berndt with the assistance of the Goulburn Islands community between 1946 and 1964.

Steve says having copies of these historical paintings helps provide inspiration to the current group of artists from the islands and adjacent mainland.

“Particularly working with the older people – they are the holders of the stories and knowledge,” he says. “The Berndt Collection has seen a real focus on those stories and those barks, with the old people recreating them so the traditional storylines remain fresh.”

Artist Jobie Managku telling the story behind his Creation Mother artwork to the tourists. “The Creation Mother gave birth to many clans in Arnhemland, back at the start of Creation. She is the mother to many, from the top, centre and bottom. All the different clans are represented by the Sacred Dilly Bags she carried on her head. She gave them food and animal totems and also gave them their language and ceremonies.”

He said one South African safari park owner who came on the Coral Princess was amazed at the vibrancy of the Mardbalk Art Centre. “We had our staffer James Gurruwiwi here explaining the works, and ladies weaving pandanus – it was a positive experience for the visitors,” Steve says. The artists around on the day are the ones who sell the most work, he says. “So James Gurruwiwi was here, and most of the works we sold were his, because the buyers want to hear from the local Mawng artists.”

The cruise ship visits represents a small step into tourism for the local people.

“It’s the impact of having visitors in the community – it brings sales, but more importantly it gives tourists a really positive day. “So when they get back to the southern states or the country they are from, they go back with news of a really positive experience in an Aboriginal community. To us, over and above everything, that’s what we’re about.”

Mardbalk artists now look forward to welcoming the next cruise ship on the horizon in June. 

Mardbalk Rangers bid 'bon voyage' to a cruise ship visiting Warruwi on April 7.