The Maningrida Collection of Aboriginal Art

Maningrida is an Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land in northern Australia, halfway between Darwin and the Gove Peninsula. This collection of objects by Maningrida artists is held in trust on a long-term basis by the Museum of Contemporary Art in agreement with the Maningrida Community.

The town of Maningrida supports 1,500 people, many of whom live on ancestral lands, where they have set up over 30 outstations. The cultural and artistic diversity of the Maningrida community is evident through the art they produce. The artists continue to work from a traditional cultural base, using locally available materials almost exclusively, experimenting with local plants and fibres to create new variations in forms, colours and textures.

The collection housed at the MCA consists of approximately 600 works in fibre and other materials, including seeds, shells and feathers. These fibre works are mostly made by women. These beautiful objects reveal the ingenuity of the women and their ability to maintain strong links with the past, while at the same time incorporating new ideas and materials. Some traditional pieces - such as dragnets, fish traps and hunting bags - are produced collectively by men and women.

Bark paintings are also featured in the collection. The bark paintings depict stories of the song cycle, culture-hero epics and historical narratives that accompany traditional ceremonies.

Works from the Maningrida Collection were most recently exhibited in the MCA's Maningrida Threads exhibition in 2003.

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