Aṉangu Storylines: Yarning with Desmond Woodforde

Join artist Desmond Woodforde for a yarn with Angus Webb, studio manager at Mimili Maku Arts, as they share insights into Aṉangu artmaking practices and cultural storytelling.

Drawing on embodied relationships to Country and cosmology in the APY Lands, the talk reflects on printmaking and painting as ongoing expressions of cultural knowledge. Together Woodforde and Webb will also discuss their work with the Wati Group, a collective of Aṉangu men from Mimili Community who are redefining what contemporary printmaking and sculpture can be when it begins on Country.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition ‘All the World’s Memories’, the yarn will explore how Aṉangu narratives and imagery can uphold and transmit cultural memory across generations.

Desmond Woodforde (b. 1974, Indulkana) is an artist and cultural knowledge holder from the far eastern region of the APY Lands. His multidisciplinary practice spans printmaking, painting, sculpture, music, and performance. Woodforde is also well known as lead singer of The Moon Band, a musical group known within the Mimili community for its distinctive desert reggae sound. He has also worked as a radio presenter with PY Media, contributing to community broadcasting. Woodforde’s practice is rooted in kinship and custodial responsibility, sharing ancestral stories, knowledge, and traditions.

Angus Webb has been with Mimili Maku Arts since 2017, building community relationships as the studio manager. Since 2021 he has been focusing on projects such as bush camps and the development of the Augmented Reality Cultural Archive, as well as residencies and professional development opportunities with senior artists. Since 2023, he has been co-hosting the men’s program, engaging new members and working on different community liaison projects. With his experience working across many different projects, he also supports strategic planning with board and management.