Hermannsburg Potters are a group of Arrernte women artists who specialise in the craft of making colourful clay pots of all shapes and sizes.
Hermannsburg is a small indigenous community about 130 kms west of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory. This region is surrounded by stunning rocky country, the ancient Western Mac Donnell Ranges, spinifex and grasslands and dry creek beds. Hermannsburg is home to a pool of artistic talent; the best known is Albert Namatjira, who was the first prominent Aboriginal painter in a western style as learnt from Rex Battarbee in the 1930s. Namatjira’s watercolours expressed his deep connection to Arrernte country and gave audiences a completely new way of seeing colours of the landscape.
Many of the Hermannsburg Potters are descendants of Namatjira and influenced by his use of modern style and deep connection to land. The Hermannsburg Potters continue this tradition in their pots, decorated with scenes from the Western MacDonnell Ranges and telling stories in clay with their own unique artistic twist.
