ingkwia tjaiya, lyaartinya tjaiya (old way, new way) 30 years of Hermannsburg Pottery in the Collection

(l-r) Hermannsburg Potters, Northern Territory, Australia est. 1990 / Irene Mbitjana Entata, Arrernte/Luritja people, Australia 1946–2014 / Pmere (My country) 1996 / Earthenware, hand-built terracotta clay with underglaze colours and synthetic polymer paint / 42 x 44cm (diam.) / Purchased 1996. QAG Foundation / © Irene Mbitjana Entata / Noreen Ngala Hudson, Arrernte people, Australia b.1947 / Pot: Pmere Nuka (My country) 1994 / Earthenware, hand-built terracotta clay with underglaze colours and applied decoration / pot: 16 x 20cm (diam.); lid:1.7 x 6.4cm (diam.) / Pot: Pmere Nuka (My country) 1994 / Earthenware, hand-built terracotta clay with underglaze colours / 28 x 17cm (diam.) / Purchased 1995. QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Noreen Ngala Hudson/Copyright Agency

(l-r) Hermannsburg Potters, Northern Territory, Australia est. 1990 / Irene Mbitjana Entata, Arrernte/Luritja people, Australia 1946–2014 / Pmere (My country) 1996 / Earthenware, hand-built terracotta clay with underglaze colours and synthetic polymer paint / 42 x 44cm (diam.) / Purchased 1996. QAG Foundation / © Irene Mbitjana Entata / Noreen Ngala Hudson, Arrernte people, Australia b.1947 / Pot: Pmere Nuka (My country) 1994 / Earthenware, hand-built terracotta clay with underglaze colours and applied decoration / pot: 16 x 20cm (diam.); lid:1.7 x 6.4cm (diam.) / Pot: Pmere Nuka (My country) 1994 / Earthenware, hand-built terracotta clay with underglaze colours / 28 x 17cm (diam.) / Purchased 1995. QAG Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Noreen Ngala Hudson/Copyright Agency / View full image

When

31 May – 9 Nov 2025

Where

Gallery of Modern Art, Foyer

About

In the sweeping plains and red-hued rolling ranges of the Central Desert, 130km west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), is Ntaria (Hermannsburg), home to a dynamic and world-acclaimed pottery movement.

Established in the 1990s the pottery pioneered a distinctive style of hand-coiled vessels, often adorned with figurative sculptural lids. The pots are iconically decorated with images of wild life, landscapes and historical vistas, with deep cultural resonance.

Over the last 30 years QAGOMA has collected examples of their pottery, now welcoming a suite of new works by artists previously unrepresented in the collection.