Join us on Saturday, April 4 from 3:30 – 4:30 pm for a hands-on workshop taught by exhibiting artist Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni. Woody will demonstrate how she turns ochre sourced from sacred locations on her ancestral homelands into paint, and how she uses a pwoja (ironwood comb) to create her jilamara (designs). Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the artist’s process and the cultural practices that are an integral part of her work, as well as to experiment with creating their own paintings. This event is free to attend, appropriate for all ages, and materials will be provided. Registration is required.

Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni is a Tiwi artist from Milikapiti, a small community situated on Melville Island, located off the northern coast of Australia’s Northern Territory. Rooted in the long-standing practices of her ancestors, her work expresses important Tiwi creation stories and representations of Murrakupupuni (Country) using  jilamara (designs). Woody sources natural pigments from sacred locations on Murrakupupuni, which she then grinds and hand mixes. She applies the paint across the surface of her barks and canvases with a pwoja (ironwood comb), resulting in distinctive dotted patterns. While traditionally used in Tiwi body painting for ceremony, Woody uses the pwoja to create contemporary representations of her homeland in striking bands of white, yellow, and red.