Dani Powell, Events and Communications Manager for Desart, said the Barkly Artists’ Camp offered networking opportunities for the artists and arts workers, where they learned and shared information about arts practice and arts centre management.

Now in its third year, the artists’ camp has been continuously successful over the years, especially for some of the emerging art groups with no formal arts centre such as Mungkarta, Epenarra and Mangalawurru.

“It’s important for artists from art centres not yet formalised to be in close relationship with established art centres so they can learn how to go about things,” said Dani.

“A camp like this helps them to learn about best practices and ways to organise themselves as artists, as a collective.”

Last year the collaboration between art communities and visiting artists brought out some really creative ideas – and this year’s camp was no exception.

Louise Flaherty, Arts Program Manager for BRA, said artists were able to share their painting techniques with each other as well as gain exposure to new artistic mediums, like the basket weaving, which they found invaluable.

“There was a lovely mix of fun, inspiration and creative expression,” Louise said.

“The artists really took to the weaving workshops, producing the most colourful and exquisite pieces. It really was a great success.”

Dani from Desart, based in Alice Springs, agreed.

“They’d never done weaving before and were excited that this new practice was introduced into the region. The feedback for this was really positive,” she said.

In fact, the artists took to the weaving so wholeheartedly that their skills will now be built upon when Adelaide-based artist Sandy comes back to Tennant Creek in August as part of a temporary public art installation project to be unveiled at the Desert Harmony Art & Culture Festival (28 August - 5 September).

As one of South Australia’s leading contemporary fibre artists, Sandy has a strong skills base in traditional and contemporary basketry techniques and loves to incorporate materials from the land into her work.

“I do have a passion for fibre, dry grasses, straw and other harvestable materials I can source,” she said.

Inspired by West Australian fibre artist Nalda Searles, who helped set up the Tjanpi Desert Weavers in 1996, Sandy delved into the traditional basket-weaving skills being developed before adding her own contemporary spin on to sculptures.

Today the Tjanpi Desert Weavers produce everything from a small basket that nestles in the palm of your hand to community projects like the Tjanpi Toyota, a collaborative work made by 20 Ngaanyatjarra weavers, which won Australia’s major Indigenous art prize, the Telstra NATSI Art Award, in 2005.

“The skills developed by the women spread like wildfire all over the country, especially in the more arid, desert communities,” said Sandy.

Traditionally, women from Aboriginal communities that lived near rivers or waterways would weave the fibres of local plants, such as pandanus leaves, into baskets. So, as Sandy explained, it was quite unusual for desert cultures to take to weaving as a contemporary art form like they have done.

Now Sandy, who introduced the Tjanpi Desert Weavers to WOMADelaide in 2007, is keen for Barkly artists to make their own mark on fibre art; develop their own style.

“The Tjanpi Desert Weavers have realised large sculptural pieces which have taken many hands and many weeks to complete and I don’t see why artists from the Barkly can’t run with these techniques too,” said Sandy.

During the Barkly Artists’ Camp, the women showed Sandy a vine which the old people used as rope.

“Where we come from there is lots,” said Audrey Rankine Nungala from the Mungkarta artist group.

“The old people used it to make straps to carry a coolamon or they’d make a little round mat with a hole in the middle to put a coolamon on their head.”

This is just the sort of material Sandy would like artists to use in the temporary public installation for the Desert Harmony Festival.

She’s also interested in Buffalo grass, an introduced species which grows around the Tennant Creek area.

“It’s a bit of a weed but it would be interesting to harvest some of it – see what we can do with it – see how we can incorporate it into fibre art,” said Sandy.

“I’d like the Barkly artists to explore what is unique in this region, allow them to explore in their way; use their language for dry grass, create their own expression from what’s around and weave all of this into a sculpture.”