Namatjira Project

From the remote Australian desert, to the opulence of Buckingham Palace, this is the iconic story of the Namatjira family, tracing their quest for justice. Albert Namatjira was the first Indigenous person to be made a citizen by the Australian Government. The founder of the Indigenous art movement in Australia, his artworks gave many Australians their first glimpses into the outback heart of the country. He was widely celebrated, exhibited globally, and introduced to Queen Elizabeth.

However, Namatjira was caught between cultures, paraded as a great Australian, whilst treated with contempt. He was wrongfully imprisoned, and in 1959, he died a broken man. In 1983, the Government sold the copyright for his artworks to an art dealer. Today his family fight for survival, justice and to regain their grandfather’s copyright. This is one of Australia’s most potent stories, illuminating the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people today, in Australia and indeed globally.