Aboriginal Art Gallery UK
Joycie Yellow wallpaper and artwork are by Central Desert artist Joycie Pitjara Morton.
Bay Gallery Home is closing for a short Summer holiday 28 July - 5 August 2022.
If you would like access to the gallery this can be arranged just call Alexandra on 07776 157 066 or email alexandra@baygalleryhome.com
We reopen Saturday 6 August.
Hope you are all having a lovely Summer.
‘My Country’ botanical velvets - left to right Rosie Pink, Betty Pink, Daisy Brown, Lilly Green, Melita Dusty Pink
Exciting news! Bay Gallery Home’s innovative fabric collection has been shortlisted for a major award at this year’s International Design and Architecture Awards.
Our ‘My Country’ range has been chosen by the events’s curators, Design et al, to vie with famous brands like Liberty Fabrics for the prestigious Fabric Design Award. The winner will be chosen by a judging panel of 26,000 industry professionals and announced at the awards show in London in September.
The ‘My Country’ interiors collection has taken five years of dedication and investment to build and it is a joy to see it being recognised. It has been created against sometimes difficult challenges, including the pandemic, Australian wildfires, personal tragedies and, in the fabrics case, manufacturers going out of business just as the first prints came off the press, leaving me to start all over again.
So much has been poured into this creation, with us often to’ing an fro’ing across the world to spend days and nights in the car driving around our desert communities in search of beautiful Aboriginal artwork. It has a been a real family effort too - my mother is always at the wheel (driving 3000km from Brisbane) and my children squished into the back for the long journey from Alice Springs to “Outbush”.
Lots of adventures were had including my Mum greeting us at Lasseter’s Hotel in Alice in 2017 with a lump the size of a grapefruit on her lower leg. “Oh, don’t worry,” she shrugged as she helped load our bags into the boot. “It’s just a snake bite I got sleeping in the swag on the way here.”
There have been many hours spent slogging up and down the motorways of the UK searching of the right designers and manufacturers capable of making a product that can compete against the worlds best design houses.
‘My Country’ is a collection of 12 breathtaking designs - all taken from the work of some of the most talented artists among the oldest continuous race on Earth - on a range of five fabric bases. They are suitable for upholstery and soft furnishings including cushions, lamps and curtains.
Thank you to all those who have collaborated with us and bought from us over the years. We hope you agree it’s been worthwhile.
Wish us luck!
‘My Country’ fabrics are from paintings by: Lilly Kemarre Morton (Lilly Green) , Betty Pula Morton (Betty Pink) , Alana Ngwarraye Holmes (Alana Pink), Daisy Kemarre Turner (Daisy Brown), Joycie Pitjara Morton (Joycie Yellow), Michelle Pula Holmes (Michelle Blue), Rosie Ngwarraye Ross (Rosie Pink and Rosie Blue), Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer (Ruth PInk, Ruth Blue, Ruth Red) and Sarah Napurrurla Holmes (Bush Onion).
Images of some of them are below (left to right): Michelle Pula Holmes, Lilly Kemarre Morton, Betty Pula Morton, Rosie Ngwarraye Ross and Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer.
Photograph credits: Alexandra O’Brien, Adam Carter & Lara Damiani Think Films
Image is from ABC News website see link below.
Sitting in my gallery, immersed in the rich beauty that has been generated by a community of Aboriginal artists far away in the Central Australian Desert I’ve received news from the other side of the world that the area where my artists live has been cut off by flooding. The sudden and often brutal monsoons that strike at this time of year are expected - it’s the wet season there - but this one has been more severe than usual.
Although I have made many trips to the Outback, the challenges these incredibly talented people have to overcome to make their work is never far from my mind.
This region has been left completely cut off for a week now. The dirt roads are under too much water for even the most robust vehicles to use, leaving those living there with dwindling supplies including food and, in the midst of their first Covid cases, vital medical supplies. The current situation has been described by local officials as “absolutely dire”.
At the community health clinic, there are just five medical staff to treat 600 patients. In recent days, they have had to handle three emergencies, including a birth, without access to Royal Flying Doctor Service support as the airstrip is completely inundated with water - it looks like a river.
From our gallery 12,000 miles away in Tetbury, we help support the Aboriginal art communities, as do many galleries across Australia and around the world, through the sale of the paintings, our ‘My Country’ interiors collection, homewares and accessories. This week we are excited to share our fabulous new rectangular cushions that have landed oh-so-softly in the gallery.
The limited run of locally-made soft furnishings, featuring the work of major art prize-winning Betty Pula Morton, Rosie Ngwarraye Ross, Melita Pitjara Morton (already sold out), Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer are plumped up and ready to go. You can see the collection on our Cushion page.
Over the weekend drop by our gallery and see what our artists are achieving in often very difficult circumstances. You’ll be as awestruck as I am every day.
