ALBERT NAMATJIRA: The Indigenous Artist

Albert Namatjira was the most celebrated Indigenous Australian of his time because he was a founder and brain behind the modern Aboriginal Australian art. Albert Namatjira was prominent for his representation of the Australian bush. He grew up in a mission very far away from his family. During that time, he normally sneaked out from the precincts of the mission to survey the Australian bush. He was familiar with the western technique of painting. With this nurtured artistic aesthetics in him, he drew the panoramic beauty of the bush in his free time. Some of the works of this legend are now on display in a number of major galleries in Australia.

 THE HERMANNSBURG MISSION: What Set Aboriginal Art in Motion

The Hermannsburg Mission was established by Louis Harms on 12 October 1849. It’s an establishment acknowledged by the state church. It was the last and longest-running Mission controlled by the Lutheran Church in Australia. The missionaries on the ground were educated on how to speak the Arrente language to make sure what they taught were understood. The Hermannsburg Mission celebrated its 140th anniversary in the 500th year of the Lutheran Church in 2017, and it carries on with the custom of doing open-air bush camps with aboriginal pastors. The Hermannsburg mission still manages a mission seminary in Hermannsburg, where young theologians are normally equipped service in one of the ELM partner churches till today.