Milpa: Stop-motion animation by Spinifex Artists

Stop-motion films made by Milpa, Spinifex Arts Project-on view at Kluge-Ruhe December 13, 2024 - June 1, 2025. We are open Tuesdays - Sundays, 10 am - 4 pm and we offer free daily tours at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm.

Located in the remote Western Australian town of Tjuntjuntjara, Milpa (est. 2018) is a small, creative studio operated by Spinifex Arts Project for the local community to experiment with film, animation, model making, and more.

Through digital media, young artists have produced artworks that capture and express their ideas, cultural values, and humor under the cultural guidance of senior artists and community members. They are narrated almost exclusively in a dialect of Pitjantjatjara, a prominent and thriving Indigenous language spoken in the region. These short films, created by and for the community, are an important creative and contemporary record of what it means to be a Spinifex artist living and working in one of the most remote areas of Australia.

From December 13, 2024 – March 2, 2025 we will be showing Walawuruku Iti Katingu: An Eagle Story (2019) and Seatbelt Tjura: Put on Your Seatbelt (2018).

From March 4 – June 1, 2025 we will be showing Putikutu Ananyi: Bush Trip (2021), Milpa Movie (2018) and The Tjuntjuntjara_Nya Cooking Show Mai Wiru Palanya: Cooking Beautiful Food (2023) .

Image: This Spinifex puppet family head out in their four-wheel drive to find native foods and cook malu (kangaroo) tails in Putikutu Ananyi; Bush Trip (2021). They were made from salvaged materials, paint, and glue found in and around the art center. Image provided by Milpa, Spinifex Arts Project.