Papunya Tula Artists

The Papunya Tula Art Movement began in 1971 when a school teacher,
Geoffrey Bardon, encouraged some of the men to paint a blank school
wall. The murals sparked off tremendous interest in the community and
soon many men started painting. In 1972 the artists successfully
established their own company.

The company is entirely owned and directed by traditional Aboriginal
people from the Western Desert, predominantly of the Luritja/Pintupi
language groups. It has 49 shareholders and now represents around 120
artists.

The company derives its name from Papunya, a settlement 240km north-west of Alice Springs.