Utopia, Northern Territory
As Utopia Station inhabited by aboriginal area of 5,000 square kilometers, is called, which lies 240 kilometers north-east of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory. It is inhabited by about 2000 people in 25 small and larger settlements along the Sandover River in the cultural region of the Western Desert. In this area the Sandover Highway, a dirt road leads.
Name
The first white settlers were German, who came in the 1920s in this area. They called the territory Utopia because they were able to catch the rabbits living there with his hand and thus had plenty of meat to eat. In the Utopia region are now in the year 2009, the following places: Arlparra as the central settlement, Atneltye, Lyenty, Atnarare, Arrawarre, Irrultja, Ingkwelaye, Ankerrapwe and Artekerre.
Utopia Community
An earlier Viehstaton from the 1920s, was bought by the government in 1975 and to the former owners of this land, the tribes of the Anmatyerre and Alyawarre, reconveyed. These tribes still speak mainly their own Australian languages and some English.
When settled, the European settlers, the Aborigines were forced to leave their traditional tribal lands and lived near the settlements in the vicinity of the whites. There the men as cattle and the women verdingten in the households of whites for food and clothing. In 1967 the Australian Government through the continued equality of pay of blacks and whites were numerous Aborigines without work.
The Indigenous Australians of the area are strongly rooted today in the traditional traditions and rituals of their tribes and live it.
In the 1970s, the movement for the Native Title ( land rights ) of the original owner was and this played artists an important role, as they not only engaged, but could represent the role and ancestral land rights of Aboriginal people with their work and thus strengthened their self-confidence. The Aboriginal people of Utopia achieved that in 1981 the full land rights were given about their tribal area.
Artist of the settlement, especially women, who produced batiks, already formed in 1988 a group of 8 women. Due to the quality of the work, 88 batiks from Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide were shown in 1989 in an exhibition. As the arts and crafts of producing batiks lost its importance, first works on canvas of women who painted with acrylics. Emily Kngwarreye, a painter who was very well known and successful later, at the time was one of the leaders of this development to art.
Today, living in this region about 200 artists who have known about Australia beyond. These are in addition to Emily Kame Kngwarreye and her daughter Barbara Weir, Kathleen Petyarre, Gloria Petyarre, Ada Bird, Edie Holmes, Michelle Holmes, Gloria Ngal, Poly Ngal and Minnie Pwerle.
Swell
- Utopia on aboriginalonline.com
- Www.utopia -art.com
- Www.utopiaanaboriginalart.com.au