Tiwi Design plans to transform shed into exhibition centre showcasing never before seen art

Tiwi Design has started construction on a new museum showcasing five decades of traditional artwork by Tiwi Islands artists.

Plans to transform one of Australia’s oldest art centres are currently in the works with Tiwi Design on track to build a new exhibition centre on Wurrumiyanga within the next 18 months.

The design studio plans to repurpose their existing carving shed into a museum, archive and media centre showcasing a collection dating back five decades.

Tiwi Design manager Steve Anderson said the exhibition centre would provide new opportunities to celebrate the work of past and present artists.

“It will be phenomenal for the local people when they see it and when they’ve got their own little place they can go and look at, say their husband or grandfather’s work, and sit with it,” he said.

“Not only will the locals be able to see work from loved ones that are no longer with us from our collection that are going to be rotated regularly but the visitors to the island will be able to come in and look as well.”

The proposed plans include a new museum alongside a pre-approved eco-hostel. Picture: Supplied

Located in Lot 431 on Puantulura Street, the centre will include a store and feature artwork including collectable ironwood carvings of ceremonial poles and creation story figures, ochre paintings and traditional ceremonial items like tree-bark, tunga, spears and headdresses.

Mr Anderson said the new centre would also display previously unseen artworks dating back to the facility’s establishment in 1968.

“We’ve got beautiful stuff we’ve collected since the art centre began in ‘68 and there’s all this work that can’t be seen so apart from getting it built, the onus is getting to actually work with one or two identified individuals who have got the knowledge, the wisdom and the right cultural protocols to curate the show and tell the story of the history of Tiwi Design.”

The 2310 square metre site also features the Tiwi Design Guest House, an ecolodge providing accommodation for visitors.

Since approval, the project has received funding from NT Tourism, NAVA and Darwin Community Arts.

Tiwi Design has already started construction with the building expected to be completed by the middle of next year and Mr Anderson estimating a further six to 12 months before it is open to the public.

Originally published as Tiwi Design plans to transform shed into exhibition centre showcasing never before seen art