The Keeping Place

We are very lucky to inhabit this magnificent building to inspire this small group of artists from Bathurst Island. It began life as a purpose designed structure to house a Tiwi culture and art museum known as “The Keeping Place”.

Our beautiful Heritage listed workshop known as the Keeping Place and evocatively as the “Tiwi Sistine Chapel” features a renowned ceiling painted by past Tiwi masters of design and culture. This ceiling serves as daily inspiration for those below.

Designed in the late 1970s by imaginative Sydney architect Peter Myers (pictured), the form was an adventurous architectural concept suggestive of the high curved ceiling of a traditional bark shelter. Today the wonderful artists of Ngaruwanajirri, many related to the past muralists, work here under this inspiring ceiling.

These eight ceiling panels were painted from October 1985 to December 1986. 

From west to east the contributing artists are: 

• Keirin Mukwakinni
• George Norm Pangaraminni
• Edward Portaminni
• Teresia and Eulalie Munkara
• Sabo Tipiloura
• Alfie Puruntatameri and wife Josie
• Alphonso Puautjimi Snr
• Marie Josette Orsto.
  

The movement for what were called “keeping places” spread to a number of Indigenous areas where the community wanted a secure place to keep material items of cultural significance for future generations. However, the logistics of supervision and transport during a building project in a very remote area as well as problems of materials storage and security delayed the Bathurst Island project until eventually, money ran out, and it became impossible to implement according to its original concept. In the hiatus, Sister Ann Gardner, a teacher at the Nguiu school seized the impetus to set up a place to retain history and things of cultural importance and established a small museum in the school precinct which today continues its role as a keeping place.

Originally “The Keeping Place” structure had been almost finished but its corrugated iron roof was unlined. With a ceiling it would lend itself to decoration, so with funds made available the manager of art and crafts during the 1980’s arranged for a great art project. The internal roof would become a ground on which a group of curved composite plywood panels could be attached, each painted in unique ways by senior Tiwi artists in 1985-1986 under a government employment program. This ceiling is 20 metres in length.

In 1994, the space was again to be restored by the enterprising John and Joy Naden, to house an art employment program for people with a disability.

In her previous role on Melville Island at Jilamara Arts, artist and fabric printer Joy Naden had succeeded along with John Naden in attracting Government funds for Tiwi artists with disabilities and then moved to Bathurst Island to join her husband. They saw the opportunity to assist people with disabilities to make art on Bathurst Island.

John Naden had extensive practical educative and managerial skills useful to Tiwi adult education and supported the male carvers’ needs gathering timber and ochres and for a time teaching woodwork and furniture making.