Tiwi Designs Aboriginal Corporation

One of the longest running Aboriginal art centres Tiwi Designs (Tiwi Designs Aboriginal Corporation) is located in the community of Wurrumiyanga (formerly Nguiu) on Bathurst Island in the Tiwi Islands off the coast of Australia. The Tiwi Designs art complex currently comprises of a carver’s shelter, pottery studio, screen printing studio, painting studio plus an administrative centre and retail gallery and the artists of Tiwi Designs produce a large range of printed textiles, fine art sculpture, paintings, pandanus weaved objects, prints and ceramics.

Tiwi Designs originally started in 1968 when two young Tiwi Artists Bede Tungatalum (1952-) and Giovanni (John) Tipungwuti (1953-1993) worked with an art teacher from the local school Madeline Clear (1945-) to produce a series of woodprint blocks. By 1969 designs by Tungatalum and Tipungwuti were being transferred to silk screens.

In 1970 Tungatalum and Tipungwuti formed an official partnership and Clear come on board full time as Tiwi Design Art Advisor. Also in 1970 Tungatalum and another Tiwi artist Eddie Puruntatameri (1948-1995) received an Industrial Design Council of Australia’s Good Design Award for a set of six linen place mats that were produced at Tiwi Design. Clear would also promoted Tiwi Designs on Today Tonight a popular Australian current affairs television program produced by the Seven Network that year.

By 1976, Tiwi Designs had left the small room underneath the Catholic Presbytery on Bathurst Island that had been their home since they started for larger premises. Tiwi Designs had also started to produce a wider range of art and craft. And in 1980 Tiwi Designs changed from a partnership into an association.

Today there are approximately 100 artists working with Tiwi Design and art by Tiwi Designs’ artists are held in all major Australian public gallery collections.