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Tuesday 10am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday 10am - 4pm

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

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United States
Charlottesville, VA
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection

the only museum in the U.S. dedicated to the exhibition and study of Australian Aboriginal Art. Admission and parking are free.

05/31/2026

Join us on Wednesday June 10 at 2 pm for a talk by Shonae Hobson titled "How Indigenous Fashion Weaves Culture and Connections." The talk explores the intersections between Indigenous Australian art and contemporary fashion practices, foregrounding the pioneering work of Indigenous Australian designers and textile artists who use fashion to share their culture and ancestral knowledge.

The talk is free to attend. Please register to reserve your spot at the link in our bio.

Shonae Hobson is a Southern Kaantju, Umpila, and Kuuku Ya’u woman from Coen, Cape York Peninsula, Australia. She is an independent curator and writer specializing in First Nations art, fashion, and design. Her curatorial practice foregrounds community-led storytelling. She is particularly interested in advancing the representation of Indigenous fashion and textiles within national and international museum contexts.

University of Virginia UVA Arts

05/28/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Djambawa Marawili AM, who has just received the Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Advocacy and Leadership in Creative Australia’s First Nations Arts and Culture Awards.

It has been our incredible privilege to collaborate with Djambawa Marawili over the years, to learn from him, and to help bring his vision for the landmark exhibition 'Madayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting form Yirrkala' to life.

1. Dr. Djambawa Marawili speaking at the Asia Society, New York for the opening of Madayin. Photo by Nick Tan, courtesy of the Asia Society.
2. Djambawa Marawili and Yinimala Gumana singing at the opening of Madayin at the Asia Society, New York. Photo by Nick Tan, courtesy of the Asia Society.
3. Djambawa Marawili at Kluge-Ruhe for his exhibition “where the water moves, where it rests” curated by Kimberley Moulton, 2015.
4. Djambawa Marawili and Waka Mununggurr with Kevin Gover, Under Secretary for Museums and Culture at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
5. Kade McDonald, Waka Mununggurr, Djambawa Marawili and Margo Smith speaking at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
6. Djambawa and Margo Smith at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, 2022.

University of Virginia UVA Arts Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Creative Australia

05/26/2026

Join us for the next Tots & Dots! Thursday, June 18 at 10 am.

Created for children ages 6 months to 4 years, this visual literacy program engages early learners (and their caregivers) in looking at and talking about art followed by a fun hands-on activity.

Learn more and register: https://kluge-ruhe.org/events/tots-dots-june-2026/

University of Virginia UVA Arts

05/24/2026

"...and we go out to get the dye plants for the colour."

These two visitors are watching the film "Kala Kunbolk (Colour Country)," 2023 on loan from Injalak Arts Centre, in our exhibition "Color is Life:Women's Work Today."

Who would you like to share this bench with?

We are open Tues-Sun, 10 am - 4 pm and we offer free tours at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm. Plan your visit and invite a friend!

University of Virginia UVA Arts Injalak Arts Gunbalanya

05/21/2026

Ms. Marawili connects her painting practice directly to her Country in the far north of Australia by using natural pigments on eucalyptus bark. The neutral color palate she used in this work may differ from the bright pinks and reds for which the artist has become known, but any color she chooses connects to her homelands. Country is all encompassing, and includes everything contained within the land, sea, and sky.

Ms. Marawili's painting "Lightning and the Rock" is on view in the exhibition "Color is Life: Women's Work Today" in Kluge-Ruhe's Main Galleries.

Hailing from a family of significant painters, Ms. Marawili became one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary artists. Her work alludes to ancestral knowledge in new and innovative ways. Certain elements of her work evoke the miny’tji (sacred clan designs) of Maḏarrpa clan painting, such as the cascade of elongated diamonds seen here. While she had a deep understanding of the stories painted by the men in her family, the artist repeatedly said that she was painting her own ideas. She had great respect for sacred knowledge, so she carefully navigated what was possible for her to express in her bark paintings.

NOŊGIRRŊA MARAWILI (1939-2023), Yolŋu, Maḏarrpa clan, "Lighting and the Rock," 2015, natural pigments on eucalyptus bark. Museum Purchase with funds provided by Maria Kluge, 2015. 2015.0007.001.

University of Virginia UVA Arts Buku-Larrnggay Mulka

05/20/2026

NOW LIVE! The podcast episode for "Aboriginal Art in America" that Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni, Colin Heenan-Puruntatameri, Hannah Raisin and Emmy Monaghan recorded recently at WTJU is live! It was recorded and edited by Ben Larsen.

It's a wonderful listen- be sure to check it out here: https://www.virginiaaudio.com/podcasts/aboriginal-art-in-america-rs9gx
or anywhere you listen to your podcasts.

Image: Colin Heenan-Puruntatameri, Hannah Raisin Emmy Monaghan, Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni, and Ben Larsen in the recording studio at WTJU.

University of Virginia WTJU UVA Department of Art Jilamara UVA Arts Creative Australia

05/18/2026

In "Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art)," Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni places her tunga (bark basket), adorned with her jilamara (designs), in dialogue with two tunga in the Kluge-Ruhe collection from the 1960s and 70s. The tunga have simultaneous elements of both the old and the new: tunga have been used in the Pukumani (bereavement) ceremony since Palingarri (Creation Time), but this form is continuously renewed through Tiwi artists’ innovation of the jilamara that adorn them.

Woody’s curatorial strategy of placing these tunga together emphasizes how the old and the new overlap in Tiwi culture, and her exhibition takes on a dual role: exhibiting Tiwi artwork to an international audience, while also transforming Kluge-Ruhe’s galleries into a space where Tiwi culture and ceremony is enacted. As Woody explains, “I put the old artwork and today’s artwork together to show cultural knowledge and connection. . . . It is special to put it out there for the outside world.”

—adapted from the catalog essay by Emmy Monaghan

Images: 1. MICHELLE PULATUWAYU WOODY MINNAPINNI, "Ngiya Murrakupupuni (My Country)," 2025, locally sourced ochre on tunga (made from stringybark by Kenny Brown and Pedro Wonaeamirri). Courtesy of the artists and Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association.
2. Ancestor, "Tunga," before 1972, natural pigments on bark with cane. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, 1993.0004.714. Courtesy of Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association.
3. Installation view of "Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art)." Woody's tunga is in the left alcove and the tunga from the Kluge-Ruhe collection are on the right.

University of Virginia UVA Arts Jilamara Creative Australia

05/16/2026

"It's a big story that Yarla, Bush Potato. "
– Yulyurlu Lorna Napurrula Fencer

The story of the Yarla (Big Yam or Bush Potato) is part of a major Jukurrpa (ancestral stories) that belongs to Warlpiri people in the northern part of the Central Desert. The narrative centers on the conflict between two brothers who take on both yam and human form. In the painting, an underground root system with tuberous yarla fans out from the main plant. This roundel is also understood to be the Jukurrpa’s epicentre, the underground water source in the cave at Yumurrpa.

A senior Law woman, Yulyurlu Lorna Napurrula Fencer inherited this Jukurrpa from her father. She began painting her stories on canvas in 1986 while in her sixties. Despite being forcibly relocated from Yuendumu by the Australian government, the artist’s work remained deeply rooted in ancestral knowledge of her Country. She would often paint alone, singing and even drumming a clapstick. She became known for her vibrant color palette and expressive brushwork that pulsates with the energy of ancestral beings.

Yulyurlu Lorna Napurrula Fencer's "Yarla Dreaming" is on view in the exhibition "Color is Life: Women's Work Today"

YULYURLU LORNA NAPURRULA FENCER (c. 1925-2006, Warlpiri), 'Yarla Dreaming,' 2002, acrylic on canvas, 67 3/8 x 49 7/8 x 1 1/16 in. (171.13 x 126.68 x 2.7 cm). Gift of Richard Klingler and Jane Slatter, 2021. 2021.0011.004. © estate of the artist. Licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.

University of Virginia UVA Arts

05/14/2026

“Artwork makes me think about the wulimawi (old people) . . . like going out on Country, same feeling. It makes me feel emotional, makes me think about my Ancestors and how they used to live. We need to keep that culture alive through art, ceremony and spending time on Country.”
– Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni

"Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art)" showcases the continuity and change that is central to Tiwi art and culture. Artist and curator Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni has included her own new work produced especially for the exhibition alongside historical Tiwi artworks she selected from the Kluge-Ruhe collection.

Images:
1. MICHELLE PULATUWAYU WOODY MINNAPINNI, "Ngiya Murrakupupuni," 2024, locally sourced ochre on linen, 120 x 90 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association.
2&3. Installation views of "Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art): Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni"

University of Virginia UVA Arts Jilamara Creative Australia

05/11/2026

We hope you were able to engage with Tiwi artist Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni while she was in residence at Kluge-Ruhe this spring! What an incredible opportunity for our community to be able to learn directly from the artist about her work and the process of curating her exhibition.

Michelle's exhibition "Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art)" will be on view through July 26.

Images:
1. Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni speaks to UVA students.
2. Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni, "Ngiya Murrakupupuni," 2024, locally sourced ochre on linen, 120 x 200 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association.
3. Detail of "Ngiya Murrakupupuni," 2024.

University of Virginia UVA Arts Creative Australia Jilamara

Address

400 Worrell Drive
Charlottesville, VA
22911

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm
Sunday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+14342438500

Website

http://www.kluge-ruhe.org/

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