The organisation that supports Aboriginal weaving artists working in the remote Central Australian desert is facing a fuel bill of A$55,000 (US$36,890).
The Tjanpi Desert Weavers represents more than 400 Anangu and Yarnangu women artists on the NPY (Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) Lands.
For the 2022-23 financial year the organisation’s fuel budget is expected to hit $55,000 – dwarfing its budget for art supplies, and $15,000 higher than the previous year.
The extra cost eats into the organisation’s multi-year funding and the social enterprise will have to meet the shortfall, according to manager Michelle Young.
Tjanpi means wild harvested grass, and the woven sculptures made from the grasses range from small brightly coloured vessels to large-scale corporate commissions, with every major institutional gallery in Australia collecting their work….