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Anapalaku Walka – Ernabella Design
The well-known Anapalaku Walka evolved out of the very first drawings that children made in the Ernabella mission school in 1940. At the time, the schoolteacher asked the children to draw whatever they liked, trying to avoid imposing a style or idea onto the children. The children would often come to the Ernabella craft room (the precursor to today’s art centre) in the afternoon or during school holidays, making their doodles and designs that were copied by older women and transferred to various craft media. The designs are based on flowers and leaves and the rich colourful arid landscape of the APY Lands. The young girls grew older and many of them joined the art centre where they developed these designs into a distinctive artistic style. The Anapalaku Walka has been used by Ernabella artists for more than 75 years on floor rugs, batik, paintings and ceramics.
