Fire Tracks brings together works from four neighbouring Barkly communities, Ali Curung, Owairtilla (Canteen Creek), Tennant Creek and Wutunugurra (Epenarra).

Jessie Beasley - Bush Flower (left) 

Valerie Nakamarra Nelson - The Pebble After rain. You see the colour that comes up, afters After the Rain (right)

Scattered across the south-east corner of the Barkly region hundreds of kilometres apart, these communities share vast rocky plains and rugged escarpments which dip and rise beneath big skies.

Artists sing the stories of the dry, metallic ash embellishes arid flood ways which cut through country leaving scarred earth in their wake, rhythmic motifs evoke cyclical seasons, and the trace of red earth leaves an indelible stain.

The exhibition showcases paintings and ceramics by artists from Arlpwe Art and Culture Centre and the Artists of the Barkly Collective.

Arlpwe (pronounced Ahl-boa) sits on Kaytetye Country in Ali Curung, an Aboriginal community about 400km north of Alice Springs. The art centre is a 100% Aboriginal owned non-for-profit, comprised of artists from the Kaytetye, Alyawarr, Warlpiri and Warumungu nations. Ali Curung, or Alekarenge, means 'belonging to the dog' referring to the dog dreaming site that the town sits upon.

The Artists of the Barkly Collective represents artists living in five remote communities across the Barkly region: Mungkarta, Kulumindini (Elliott), Owairtilla (Canteen Creek), Tennant Creek and Wutunugurra (Epenarra). The Collective is comprised of artists from the Alyawarr, Kaytetye, Mudburra, Jingili, Waramungu, Warlpiri and Warlmanpa nations. The Collective is facilitated by Barkly Regional Arts, a not-for-profit multi-disciplinary art centre based on Waramungu Country. Barkly Regional Arts collaborates with remote Indigenous communities to foster access, development, and recognition of arts in the Barkly.

Artists

Agnes Pwerl Rubuntja

Aileen Napaljarri Long

Daylene Miller Kamara

Fiona Pwerl Corbett

Georgina Jones Pitjarra

Heather Nungarryai Anderson

Jessie Kemarr Beasley

Jessie Kemarr Peterson

Lindy Nungarrayi Brodie

Lynette Ngwarrey Bonney

Marina Waake Nangala

Martha Poulson Nakamarra

Mary Napangardi James

Michelle Nambidjinba Brodie

Nancy Long Nugarrayi

Penny Napaljarri Kelly

Rosieanne Holmes Napanangka

Sarah Holmes Nabangardi

Sonya Murphy Napalkarri

Stephanie Holmes Naburrula

Topsy Kemarr Steppa Beasley

Valerie Nelson Nakamarra

Vicky Napurrula Pope

Zeza Egan Nambidjinba

Maureen Jipiyiliya Nampijinpa O'Keefe