When Ikuntji, or Haasts Bluff, in Central Australia, is punched into a map from some of Australia's capital cities, the curvature of the earth can be seen across the route. Almost 3,500 kilometres from Perth and almost 3,000 kilometres from Sydney and Brisbane, it could be considered remote by prevailing standards in the non-Indigenous world. But anyone, be they Indigenous or nonIndigenous, would agree that it is at a huge remove from the main fashion centres in this country.
“From remote communities, how do you access this world that is so inaccessible, from somewhere in Central Australia?” asks Dr Chrischona Schmidt, manager of Ikuntji Arts Centre, situated 230 kilometres west of Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in the West Macdonnell Ranges. She knows that First Nations creatives who want to become involved in fashion