Established in 2000, The Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists studio is the first in Australia to occupy the intersection between supported studios and Aboriginal Art Centres. The studio provides a means for indigenous artists living with a disability to develop and receive recognition for their artistic practices by providing supported studio spaces, a national exhibition schedule, design contracts, multimedia collaborations, art fairs and art award opportunities.
Employees are supported and encouraged to develop skills in a range of production processes, learning use of tools, safety procedures, material properties and working to briefs.
One of Bindi’s longest running departments, the workshop consists of wood work and sheet metal work. Amongst commercial agreements, the workshop upcycles timber to create a unique range of hand crafted timber products, including their famous tucker boxes.
The contracts department secures commercial agreements with local and national businesses, thereby providing supported employees a variety of tasks such as packaging, delivering, sorting and labelling. Bindi has had a long-standing contract with QANTAS to refurbish headsets used on domestic flights.
Newer contracts include a postal delivery service to Alice Springs’ town camps. The contracts department provides work to upwards of 11 supported employees. The collaborative nature of the work helps to cultivate the strong sense of community that underlies the contracts department.
