Bula'bula Arts

We are Bula'bula Arts Aboriginal Corporation - a non-profit community art centre in Ramingining in Arnhem Land -  remote northern Australia. We are famous for bark paintings and natural fibre weavings. Times are challenging and we are thinking about ways to make our business stronger. We have a history of screen printing on lengths of fabric on our 8 metre table - with 12 beautiful and unique original designs created by our Yolngu artist members over the years. But right now all our screens are old and damaged so we can't print. We would love your support for this campaign to reinvigorate our workshop and get us printing again. By pledging funds you will get a fabulous reward and you will also help us raise enough money to get more screens made so we can print fabric in our own workshop. Plus we will be able to get some of our designs (the complicated ones) printed offsite. We will also buy fabric, squeegees and inks and - so once again will be able to make our handprinted fabric available to family, locals and customers. By the way - we have DGR status so any pledge is tax deductible! This is our first ever Crowdfunding Campaign so we are a bit nervous. We would love your support. 

How we will use the money we raise

First Target

1. Replace our damaged screens so we can print in our own workshop in Ramingining.
2. Get screens made so we can commission Publisher Textiles (Sydney) to print some of our designs in their workshop.
3. Replace damaged equipment in our workshop, like squeegees.
4. Buy printing ink and quality fabric to print on.
5. GET PRINTING!

Stretch Goal

1. Pay talented artisans to make fantastic fair trade things out of our fabric (like some of the Rewards we offer).

Big name no blankets

Can we boast a bit first? Ramingining is a bit famous (even if you don't remember our name). Ramingining is where the groundbreaking Australian feature film 10 Canoes was developed and filmed in partnership with the community. It was directed by Rolf de Heer and co-director Peter Djigirr (one of our members) back in 2006. Many of our artists/weavers acted and starred in the film. Do you know Black As? It's a hilarious series of Youtube stories about living and driving around Ramingining - including to the beach and swamps. It was initiated by some of locals who then collaborated with Rebel Films to get it made. They are now making Season 3. 

Also, we love textiles, fabric and fashion. Three of our ladies Mary Dhapalany Mangul, Margaret Djarbaalabal Malibirr and Evonne Muyuyngu (below) did a project with designer Julie Shaw and won the Community Collaboration Award: MAARA Collective x Bula'Bula Arts at the inaugural National Indigenous Fashion Awards in Darwin in August 2020. But currently our online shop is empty of fabrics - we don't have any to sell.

Bula'bula Arts is more than 30 years old and we have around 150 Yolngu (Aboriginal) members speaking 14 languages across thirteen clan groups including English. Our core mission is 'to preserve and foster Yolngu culture'. We are world famous for our paintings on bark and canvas and natural fibre weavings. Our original artworks can be found in Museums, Art Galleries and private collections around the world. (Keep scrolling down for more information about us and where we are.)

We have had a fabric print workshop in our art centre building in Raminging since the early 1990s printing on fabric, t-shirts and small items. We have a range of superb cultural fabric designs created by our member artists for screen printing continuous lengths (yardage) on our 8 metre table, however, they are out of commission due to time and wear and tear. Sadly our big screens all need replacing and our table needs recovering. We also need some basic printing equipment to replace our old gear (squeegees etc) plus we want to invest in screens, quality fabric, fabric inks, and production of new designs. So, we need financial resources.

We receive annual funding from the Australian Government's IVAIS program for operational subsidy (salaries), but not for investing in the business. We have to generate income to pay our artists and if we want to do any business development - through sales of arts and crafts. Until 2020 things were going pretty well for us. In recent years we have been receiving tourists during dry season (May - October) and that has been a big boost to our sales income and financial returns to members. But that has all changed in 2020 *sad face*. If we want to get printing again ... we gotta pay for it. That's why we need your help. 

Why printing on fabric is good for us

We now want to produce really affordable products that can be sold online and are easy to ship. The future for remote art centres is selling online - so we can reach lovely people like you. Fabric and fabric products are ideal because they can be made in multiples (so you don't need to take a new photo every time you want to put one online, unlike original artworks), they are unbreakable and they are really a really good price points. So it's win-win, good for our customers and good for us.

There are so many reasons we love printing on fabric. 

Social impacts

• Our designs are about culture. Printing them makes us happy because we are sharing our culture inside and outside Ramingining.
• It makes our artists proud to see their designs being worn and used by balanda (non-Indigenous people). 
• Our members love to use printed fabric in the local community and in their own lives for decorating their homes, wearing them in clothes and lengths used for funerals.
• Printing is a job and our members want to work. It's great job opportunity when sales of original artwork have been impacted by COVID-19 and no tourists.

Financial impacts

• Artists/their families receive royalties from every metre printed.
• Printers receive an income for printing. 
• Selling fabric generates income for the art centre.

Our fabric printing history

We started printing back in the 1990s and some iconic designs were created by artists then like George Milpurrurru, Paddy Dhatangu, Don Weluk and Dorothy Djukulul (all deceased). We had an onsite print workshop manager, Lawrence Leslie (deceased), a Gamileroi artist who came to work with us. People loved our designs and our fabrics went all over the world and the artists earned royalties. Then we created three more designs in 2014. The new designs were based on original paintings by two living artists: Roy Burrunyila and Philip "Pussycat" GudthayKudthay (see photo below wearing a shirt he was gifted by visitors from Injalak Arts in 2014 who printed the fabric in their own art centre and had the shirt made). Roy is unwell and would dearly love to see his design printed again. Philip is in his nineties and now in a wheelchair and can no longer paint. Being able to make his design printable again will generate royalties for him - yes! A third artist Robyn Djunginy, acclaimed weaver, has since passed away and her design "Bottles" is stunning. When her design is printed, her family will receive the royalties. 

Why we think this is a good time to print fabric again

2020 is turning out to be quite a year. Our reputation has been linked to Indigenous Fashion with the Award we won and that's been fantastic. We know from talking to our networks that with the current situation lots of people have taken up home sewing in Australia. They are discovering the joys of #memade and appreciate using beautiful hand made fabric. Also, consumers are becoming more aware of the ethics of buying from Indigenous organisations and want to show their support. Online fabric sales are thriving and we are watching other Aboriginal art centres do really well. 

Plus (and this is a big plus) next year there will be an exhibition at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles called "Aboriginal Screen printed fabrics from Australia's Top End". Curated by ex-Territorian Joanna Barrkman it is accompanied by a big catalogue has been produced for the show and it will be open for three months, then it will probably tour to other venues. Although we are not in it the exhibition will bring international attention to Aboriginal fabric screen printing and we want to be able to ride that wave. We want to be ready with stock and the capacity to print more as demand grows. The catalogue will be available from the end of September 2020. 

Our workshop is small and really good for employing and training local people but there are also opportunities to expand our production. Publisher Textiles is an amazing and highly respected hand printing studio in Sydney that has been supporting lots of art centres to print fabrics when their own facilities are not adequate. They've just agreed to work with us to support the reinvigoration. We are so excited about starting to work with them if we can raise the money. Photo below is a Chris bag made from hand printed fabric designed by Dorothy Djukulul (dec). They are a great, practical unisex messenger bag.

Value adding - making cool things out of fabric

Back in 2015 we were involved in a consultancy project that had a fancy title: "New marketing and supply chain management strategies for remote Indigenous fabric printing workshops". The project included Wadeye Women and Injalak Arts and was called the Flying Fox Fabric Consortium. As part of the project bags and purses were made out of our fabric by fair trade workshops in Cambodia that train, employ and support disabled artisans. It was really helpful to show artists how the fabrics can be value added to stimulate their interest in improving supply chain capacity. Our artists/members went crazy for the products and so did our customers. Since then we've had products made a number of times in partnership with Flying Fox Fabrics and they sold really well. But now we don't have any fabric so can't keep going, it's disappointing and frustrating. Fabric made from our very last two screens (just before they stopped working) has just been made into products and has just arrived in Australia and will be part of the Rewards for this campaign. We are also going to sell them from our art centre and in pop-ups. This lovely lady (below) is holding a Serena bag she made with Philip Gudthaykudthay's fabric design. 

More about Bula'bula Arts

We are Bula'bula Arts Aboriginal Corporation and we are a registered Australian charity with PBI and DGR status. Our core business is "to preserve and foster yolngu culture". We live in a super remote part of Australia and are active custodians of yolngu culture. The 150 artist members from Ramingining and surrounding outstations own the corporation and elect between 8-10 directors at the AGM each year. 

Our statement:

Limurru manapanmirri Djaga ga djama rrangi Bulabula’n’ha nguthunmarama Bathi, Bidi’yunaray, yidaki ga dhupundhu, ga wiripuwiripuynha mala djamapuyyu.

Let’s collaborate together, care for each other and work to build up Bula’bula making string bags, paintings, didgeridu, hollow logs and all the other things that we do.

Dhuwala napurru nguli ga djama yaka yana dilakku, nanydja napurru ga mel-gurrupun dapurruggu djamarrkuli’nha. Ga walala dhu bitjandhi bili mal-gurrupun walalayguway walala djamarrkuli nha.

These things are not just for us elders; we are also here to give examples and instruction to our children. So they can also continue to give examples to their children into the future.

That's Philip in front of our art centre a few years back. Ramingining community and its surrounding outstations are home to a population varying between 700-1200 people depending on season and ceremony. The Yolngu (people) of Ramingining and surrounding outstations have a compelling material culture producing works of deep ritual and spiritual significance. The works created by Bula’bula’s artist members are authentic in their connection to Yolngu (people) and their true nature and beliefs. The artworks contain meaningfulness about sophisticated and complex social structures: such as ceremonies, songs, language, creative beings, family and Yolngu identity within that, as well as the relationships between all things: such as animals, plants, birds, trees, fish, water and Yolngu identity within these things. This photo is our gallery in Ramingining. 

Where is Ramingining?

Ramingining is in the middle/top of Arnhem Land - that mysterious chunk of Australia that sticks up - to the east of Darwin (the dark green bit) and to the west of Cape York (the pointy bit on the top right). To get there by road, head through Kakadu National Park and keep going. But only during the dry season or else you'd better have an amphibious vehicle. We are so remote many maps don't even show a road (there are roads, but they are rough, unsealed and seasonal).

We are 580 km east of Darwin, 435 km by road west of Nhulunbuy and 30 km inland.  The main Nhulunbuy- Katherine road is 100 kms to the south. Both roads linking Ramingining (from the east and the south) are dry season, four-wheel drive use only. The community is located on the edge of the heritage listed Arafura Wetlands in Central Arnhem Land. There are 11 outstations belonging to Ramingining; Yatalamarra, Wulkarimirra, Ngangalala, Mulgurram, Garanydjirr, Galadjapin, Gattji, Gelirri, Manbbirri, Bundatharri and Gurulul. Population at these outstations is very much dependent on season and rainfall with occupancy ranging from 6 to 100.  

Thank you so much for reading this far!!!! We really hope you like our campaign. Contact us if you have any questions.

If you want to know more about Ramingining you can watch this Youtube video. 

Our Two Goals - First and Stretch

We have two goals - our first target ($15,000) and then our stretch goal ($25,000)

Goal - get fabric printing going again

• 15 New screens delivered to Ramingining @ $300 each = $4,500
• New equipment (squeegees, dryers, staple guns, staples, scissors, cover on table) = $1,600
• New screens offsite - 8 @ $200 each = $1,600
• Fabric - 500 metres @ $12 = $6,000
• Ink - $1,300

Total - $15,000

Stretch Goal - New designs and product development

• Pay artisans (fair trade)  to make bags, purses, satchels made from our fabric - $7,500
• Pay artisans (fair trade) to make cushion covers/homewares made from our fabric - $2,500

Total $10,000