Did you see our puppet performance, Ngurra Nyujunggamu- When the World was Soft, as part of the opening night of the Red Earth Arts Festival on the 4th of May? We would love to know your thoughts and feedback!! Please email us at wanthiwa@juluwarlu.com.au

This picture was from the story of Barrimirndi. After breaking the law, two boys are punished by the Barrimirndi. Barrimirndi carves his way through Yindjibarndi Country creating now what is known as the Fortescue River – Yarndayirra- nha, making the pools at Millstream. The whole community must learn a hard lesson so we can understand the importance of following and accepting laws and taking responsibility for our mistakes.

Ngurra Nyujunggamu was produced by Juluwarlu with support from the City of Karratha and Principal Partner Rio Tinto for the Red Earth Arts Festival 2023. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Festivals Australia program for Opening Night of REAF 2023 and has received support from the Yindjibarndi Nation Limited with partners RTIO, Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, Water Corporation, Australia Council for the Arts, and Horizon Power, with the kind community support of Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd, Ngaarda Media and Yurra.

Alice Guiness is one of Juluwarlu’s longest-painting artists. Born between 1950 and 1955, Alice began painting at another women’s wellbeing centre in Roebourne in the early 1990s before Juluwarlu Art Group opened.

She is also an artist working with a disability and although Juluwarlu have always supported her, we are just starting to understand it and explore it more.

To answer these interview questions, we all sat down together to help verbalise Alice’s practice and experience. We are elders and artists: Wendy Hubert, Judith Coppin, Jean Norman and June Djiagween, and our Juluwarlu CEO, Lorraine Coppin.

We are sitting in the art room at Ngurrawaana having our breakfast, the temperature is cool and it’s been raining all night. Alice is painting, a warm cup of tea by her side. There are seven dogs at our feet and everyone is feeling very relaxed.

Alice will be exhibiting her paintings at the National Indigenous Art Fair in Sydney at the Juluwarlu Art Group stall. It is her first visit to NSW.