Warlukurlangu
Warlukurlangu (English: Artist Aboriginal Corporation) is an artist organization with an arts center, which is located in Yuendumu , 300 kilometers west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory in Australia . It consists exclusively of Aborigines and is financed and organized by them on their own. The artists have their own building for the production of works of art.
Surname
Warlukurlangu means in the language of the Warlpiri belonging to fire (German: belonging to fire ). The name goes back to a story of the dream time of the Warlpiri people, which occurred west of Yuendumu.
aims
The organization was founded in 1985 and has been selling works of art by its artists directly to end customers without intermediaries since 1986. It has around 600 members and is active worldwide. The works of art of its members have been shown in numerous exhibitions and have become known through further publications.
This organization does not aim for profit. It is led by an executive committee consisting of 16 people, 8 women and 8 men. This committee represents the interests of all participating Aboriginal groups, sets rules, makes decisions about the overall organization and the sale of the works of art. Warlukurlangu not only represents the interests of the artists economically, but also promotes the cultural heritage associated with the images. It is one of the largest and most successful arts centers in the Western Desert with numerous respected Aboriginal artists.
costs
Artists from this region are very interested in working and living in this organization. The works of art are produced in the center of the artist organization and the resulting works are prepared by this organization for catalogs and for sale. After a successful sale of a work of art, the proceeds are financially split between the artist and Warlukurlangu. Warlukurlangu pays the freight, office and IT costs, promotion, material and administration costs as well as food and travel for the artists in the area. The organization has 3 full time executives and it is employing additional staff.