Painting Martuwarra

A project which is labeling Living With Rivers in 2026.

“Painting the Martuwarra” is a project about recognition that rivers’ Living Waters have deep cultural meaning, relations and obligations to care. It is also about un-mapping and remapping Australia and decolonising its rivers. It will be a painterly declaration of bioregional Indigenous cultural sovereignty, producing statements about the love and connections between people and their rivers, water and waterscapes.

The central idea of “Painting the Martuwarra” is that Traditional Owners (i.e. Indigenous river custodians) and their families from the Martuwarra (Fitzroy) River in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Traditional Owners will portray via paintings and associated digital artworks their sections of the rivers and their significance, while also exploring their wider collective relationships to the rivers and streams. The artistic process will result in a cultural river map which covers the Rivers, wetlands, catchment and peoples, portraying the river as a connective feature of cultural, spiritual and material significance. “Painting the Martuwarra” will strengthen the ongoing education and awareness-raising activities to showcase globally the value of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council as cultural guardians with a global ethical model of care to share and give voice to rivers globally.

“Painting the Martuwarra” will produce many big, bold and beautiful statements that promote the intertwined and intricate relationships between the rivers and their peoples. It will deepen the wider community’s understanding of the river system, our relationship with it, and Traditional Owners’ water governance.

Credits : Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council