Mimili Maku: 12th September - 3rd October 2026

When I write about these artists, I write about relationship. Relationship is everything. It is the bond between family, Country, culture, ancestors and responsibility. No painting stands alone. Each carries the presence of family, the Elders who guided them and the generations who will carry these stories forward. In Mimili, we are one family, connected through a complex network of relationships, histories and responsibilities that cross surnames and generations. Belonging is the thread binding people to one another, to culture and to the future.

The artists in this exhibition each brings a unique vision, lived experience and cultural knowledge. No two paintings are the same because no two people see the world in exactly the same way. When I stand before these works, I do not see only paint on canvas. I see people, families and knowledge carried forward through colour, movement and memory. I see artists standing proudly within their stories, expressing what words cannot always say. Every artist paints with reason and purpose. These works are living expressions of culture, carrying ancestral knowledge, songs, dances and responsibilities handed down through generations.

Art is one of our greatest teachers. Long before books were written, knowledge was shared through storytelling, ceremony, song, dance and visual expression. Painting continues that tradition. It carries memories of places, journeys, sacred responsibilities and everyday life. Through art, stories travel beyond community while remaining connected to the Country from which they come. Culture is alive, strong and continuing.

For those stories to stay strong, people need to be able to stay close to Country and make a future there. That is where Mimili Maku Arts matters. The art centre does not make culture. Culture is already here. Mimili Maku Arts is a vessel that helps make it possible for people to live, work and create on Country — to build careers, support family, pass on knowledge and remain connected to the places these stories come from. It creates opportunity without asking artists to leave community behind. Artists gather each morning, sharing tea, conversation and laughter before painting. Bush trips take people back onto Country, where stories are shared in the places where they belong and Elders pass on knowledge through storytelling, observation and lived experience. Country remains our greatest teacher. The art centre also works alongside schools, the clinic and other community services, supporting people in the many parts of life that make creativity possible. This is how futures are built: through culture, employment, family, care and opportunity working together.

Like every community, we face challenges. Some artists carry family responsibilities, while others live with declining health. These realities remind us that time is precious and telling our stories matters. Every painting becomes part of a living archive, carrying language, memory, identity and connection to Country forward.

The 8 Hele Mimili Maku Arts exhibition is more than a collection of paintings. For visitors, it is an invitation not only to look, but to listen. Listen to the stories carried within each painting. Listen to the voices of Country. Listen to the memories living within every brushstroke. Behind each canvas stands an artist, but around every artist stands a much bigger network of family, Country and community. That is what these paintings carry with them.

Together, these artists show us what becomes possible when culture, work, family and Country remain connected. Mimili Maku Arts helps hold that space, making it possible for artists and future generations to keep creating, working, learning and living strongly on Country.

That is something bigger than any one name.

Palya.

By Robert Fielding

Exhibition Catalogue (PDF)