[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 11, 2025] Maḻatja-Maḻatja | For the Next Generation: Printmaking at Mimili Maku Arts is an exhibition of largescale screenprints and intaglio prints on display in the Upper West Oval Room of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia from August 19, 2025 – January 11, 2026.
The artists of Mimili Maku Arts span generations, from emerging creatives to established visionaries. Together their work reflects the vibrant Mimili Community in South Australia on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.
In 2012, artists across families and generations made prints at a workshop on Country with the master printmaker Basil Hall. This selection speaks directly to the continuity of Aṉangu culture. Husband and wife Kunmaṉara (Mumu Mike) Williams and Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin mentored Robert Fielding who in turn taught his son Zaachariaha Fielding. Betty Kuntiwa Pumani passed down the stories that she learned from her mother to her own daughter Marina Pumani Brown and her niece Josina Pumani.
Maḻatja-maḻatja is a concept that deeply reflects the mission of the artists and the art center to support future generations of Aṉangu to continue to live and create on Country. The term means “those who come after” or “the next generation” and conveys an understanding that what the community does in the present already belongs to their children and grandchildren. In the words of artist Kunmaṉara (Willy Muntjantji) Martin, “It’s important that we hold our culture, our stories, our connection to Country strong for maḻatja-maḻatja—that’s why I make paintings.”
This multigenerational group of artists make a bold claim about their enduring connection to Country in these prints. Their work is a strong expression of the connection between the past, the present, and the future at Mimili Maku Arts.
This exhibition runs in tandem with Tjukurpa | Handle It, an exhibition of multimedia works by Robert Fielding at the Kluge-Ruge Aboriginal Art Collection on view from June 26, 2025-January 11, 2026. Robert Fielding will be undertaking an artist residency at Kluge-Ruhe from September 24 through October 15, 2025. He will give a public gallery talk at Kluge-Ruhe on Saturday, October 3rd.
Mimili Maku Arts is a vibrant contemporary art studio and cultural center founded and governed by a strong board of Aṉangu directors. The art center is located in Mimili Community on the APY Lands. The center is a thriving cultural space, connecting cultural leaders from the community with the contemporary art world.
“Mimili Maku Arts is a safe cultural space for and by Aṉangu.” —Mimili Maku Arts
#####
Media contact: Laura Snyder (ljs7f@virginia.edu)
Image: MARINA PUMANI BROWN (b. 1984, Pitjantjatjara), Rock Hills Meet Desert Sand, 2013, screenprint on Magnani paper, 27 9/16 x 39 1/2 in. (70.01 x 100.33 cm). Printed by Clinton Barker. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection. Gift of Basil Hall, 2023. 2023.0006.342