Lander & Rogers has welcomed artists from the Warmun Art Centre to showcase a selection of their works as part of a special exhibition at the firm's Melbourne office.
The exhibition is the third event hosted by the firm in partnership with Warmun Art Centre and featured paintings and prints crafted on Country from traditional materials, by emerging and established artists from the art community in Warmun in the East Kimberley region in Western Australia.
The works on show highlighted the breadth of talent of Warmun Art Centre's artists and their unique expression of Gija traditions, ceremony and Ngarranggarni (Dreamtime stories).
The exhibition opening was attended by clients, colleagues, friends, and family of the firm as well as special guests, Warmun artists Mark Nodea and Peter Thomas ─ who marked the event by performing a Joonba, a narrative-driven combination of song and dance incorporating painting, theatre, story and history.
More than 20 of the exhibited paintings and prints were sold during and after the launch event, with all proceeds going back to the artists and supporting Warmun Art Centre's mission to empower Gija artists and the Warmun community through sustainable arts enterprise.
Lander & Rogers has collaborated with Warmun Art Centre since 2013. Pro bono, community and environment partner Jo Renkin said of the partnership: "Lander & Rogers was adopted by the Warmun Art Centre more than 10 years ago, through the Arts Law Centre's Artists in the Black project. Since then, we've enjoyed an enduring two-way relationship with the organisation, its artists and the Warmun community."
As a thriving gallery and community centre that celebrates and promotes the art, language and culture of Gija people, Ms Renkin said the Centre exemplifies the "pivotal role art centres play in supporting economic success, protecting culture and strengthening community."
About the Warmun Art Centre
Warmun Art Centre is one of remote Australia’s most significant cultural institutions. Established in 1998 by the late founding members of the contemporary painting movement in Warmun, Western Australia – Rover Thomas, Queenie McKenzie, Madigan Thomas, Hector Jandany and Jack Britten – Warmun Art Centre has continued in its mission to preserve, maintain and celebrate Gija culture through the development of innovative contemporary ochre paintings and other art forms.
