Mimili Maku Arts is a vibrant contemporary art studio owned and governed by a strong board of Anangu directors. The art centre supports artists across different disciplines such as painting, new media, sculpture and publishing.
Mimili Maku Arts is a place for intergenerational exchange and learning, where Anangu knowledge is celebrated, maintained and lived daily. Being a sustainable business for future generations of Anangu living in community, we are not only a space for artistic excellence but also a tool to support real social change and political advocacy.
As a grassroots organisation we uncompromisingly support the vision of our Elders, driving economic, cultural and social Anangu leadership across all levels of our business, and significantly improving community health and wellbeing.
As founding member of the APY Art Centre Collective, Mimili Maku Arts continues to work alongside families and friends from other APY communities to develop regional large-scale artistic projects. Through the APY Art Centre Collective we have been able to open our own galleries in Sydney and Adelaide to increase support to young and emerging artists in the early stages of their careers.
Mimili Community lies within the beautiful Everard Ranges, around 500 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs. At one time known as Everard Park, a cattle station, the area was returned to Aboriginal ownership through the 1981 APY Land Rights Act. Today, Mimili is home to about 250 Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people who refer to themselves as Anangu.
Mimili's name derives from Kinara Mimi, a place of water where Kapi Kata (lit. water head / soakage) still lies. Iriti (long time ago) Kinara Mimi was known as Pira Mimi, which means “the moon is just starting to come up” in Yankunytjatjara. This manta (land) and this wapar (storyline) belongs to Yankunytjatjara people, but has become a place for Yankunytjatjara people to come together tjungu with Pitjantjatjara people; they became united as walytja (family). Today Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people live together in Mimili, we all work together at Mimili Maku Arts, bringing together the stories of our home and sharing the storylines of our foundation, Kinara Mimi.
Mimili Maku Arts receives funding through the Australian Government’s Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support Program.
Please note: In accordance with the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act (1981) there is NO PUBLIC ACCESS to Mimili Community.