Ma?atja-Ma?atja | For the Next Generation: Printmaking at Mimili Maku Arts

On view August 19, 2025- January 13, 2026 in the Upper West Oval Room of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the exhibition Ma?atja-Ma?atja | For the Next Generation: Printmaking at Mimili Maku Arts spans generations, from emerging creatives to established visionaries. Together the artists' work reflects the vibrant Mimili Community in South Australia on the A?angu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

In 2012, artists across families and generations made prints at a workshop on Country with the master printmaker Basil Hall. This selection speaks directly to the continuity of A?angu culture. Husband and wife Kunmanara (Mumu Mike) Williams and Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin mentored Robert Fielding who in turn taught his son Zaachariaha Fielding. Betty Kuntiwa Pumani passed down the stories that she learned from her mother to her own daughter Marina Pumani Brown and her niece Josina Pumani.

Ma?atja-ma?atja is a concept that deeply reflects the mission of the artists and the art center to support future generations of A?angu to continue to live and create on Country. The term means “those who come after” or “the next generation” and conveys an understanding that what the community does in the present already belongs to their children and grandchildren. In the words of artist Kunmanara (Willy Muntjantji) Martin, “It’s important that we hold our culture, our stories, our connection to Country strong for ma?atja-ma?atja—that’s why I make paintings.” This multigenerational group of artists make a bold claim about their enduring connection to Country in these prints. Their work is a strong expression of the connection between the past, the present, and the future at Mimili Maku Arts.

This exhibition runs in tandem with Tjukurpa | Handle It, an exhibition of multimedia works by Robert Fielding at the Kluge-Ruge Aboriginal Art Collection on view from June 26, 2025-January 11, 2026.