Map & Story
We hope you love our latest offering.! To view our above short film “Not Just a Road” simply click the icon in the bottom right corner to fill your screen for maximum impact and sit back and relax - oh and of course press play!
Creative entrepreneur Mel Forbes had a vision. A vision so bold, so vibrant and so ambitious, it would fill the endless horizons of one of Australia’s most iconic outback highways, the Plenty, in the Northern Territory.
That vision is the Outdoor Gallery, Outback Way a first for Australia. Using the vast openness of semiarid scrublands as a backdrop, the Gallery features 28 works of art on fourteen billboards over a 111-kilometre stretch.
It is a visual feast for the outback traveller, starved for distraction, and showcases 28 larger than life artworks from Northern Territory, Queensland, and West Australian remote and regional artists. #NTAustralia #VisitCentralAus
Immerse yourself in the stunning landscape of the Outback Way and experience art by artists that span cultures and generations
Outdoor Gallery, Outback Way LOCATION MAP
The billboards are located beside the Plenty Highway providing easy viewing as you slow down to drive by . Or, you can pull off to the side of the highway to lengthen your viewing experience.
We now have the audio tour available on this website.
ACCESSIBLE BELOW HERE:
Note: Engawala Community hosts Billboard # 5 , located opposite the general store on Webb St in the Engawala community. The Engawala community is located up 25kms of dirt road off the Plenty Highway and welcomes visitors to the Art Centre.
The Engawala Art Centre, located on Engawala Rd is easily seen as you drive into the community - Billboard #5 is just out the
Visitors to the Engawala Art Centre are welcome Monday to Friday from 10am -1pm.
For further information or to arrange viewing times outside these hours please contact Engawala Art Centre Manager: Janine on 0475 417 473.
This exhibition consists of 111 km of art in the centre of Australia.
Mediums include: photography, painting and sculpture.
2021 is the inaugural exhibition of the Outback Way Outdoor Gallery. This exciting arts & cultural initiative showcases art in a deconstructed outdoor gallery setting – the picturesque desert landscape of the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia, through Eastern Arrernte Country.
This exhibition gives the viewer a new perspective, infusing art on the scale of fourteen billboards within the landscape along the Plenty Highway (part of The Outback Way). The Outback Way Outdoor Gallery’s starting point is around 130kms east of Alice Springs, about 7kms before the turnoff to the Gemtree Caravan Park and finishes about 100km down the Plenty Highway towards the Queensland border.
Featuring 28 works by 27 artists, this project highlights the quality of art from regional and remote Australia and aims to develop a wider appreciation of indigenous and regional art to visitors.
A call out for art submissions resulted in over 70 entries, all artists from the surrounding regions of the Outback Way. Hetti Perkins, Curatorial Advisor, (daughter of Australian Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins and German Eileen Munchenberg) and Project Manager, Mel Forbes whittled the selection of artworks down to the final shortlist. This project showcases a range of artistic styles including photography, painting and sculpture.
Project Manager, Mel Forbes says, “To me this project is an art piece in itself. An artwork that has the exciting and wonderful palette of many artists. I reference the Japanese artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi.”
Hetti Perkins, Curatorial Advisor, says, “The Outback Way Outdoor Gallery brings to the ‘big screen’ the creativity and diversity of remote area communities. These larger-than-life paintings, photographs, sculptures and works on paper collectively form a ‘portrait’ of the people who live in the outback, bringing home the unique stories and landscape of this region of Australia.”
Pepi-Joy Gilgen
Artist Pepi-Joy Gilgen says of her work, In My Mother’s Eyes, “This piece traverses traditional processes and experimental techniques within the textile realm.”
Joanne Taylor
Participating artist, Joanne Taylor, says of the project, “Rethinking the gallery concept and using billboards instead of gallery walls is a great concept that may well be adopted by others. I love living in remote western Queensland, not that far (in my concept of distance) from the start of the Plenty Highway; it’s almost in my backyard. For people living in remote areas, long empty highways can sometimes be a chore to travel. Often the billboards we do see are unloved and uninspiring. What a concept for revitalising these spaces for the enjoyment of the travelling public, whilst expanding the reach of the arts to a whole new audience.”
Karen Stephens
Another participating artist, Karen Stephens, says, “I believe The Outback Way will open up a doorway for discovery. As a visual artist living and working in a remote region, I’m excited to be chosen to exhibit artworks or literally have them supersized – as part of the inaugural opening of the Outback Way Outdoor Gallery in the East MacDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory. It’s a unique concept to exhibit paintings as billboards along the Plenty Highway representing both an open-air art gallery and drive-through theatre!”
How Artworks are Sourced
In early 2020 we sent out a call out for expressions of interest to be a part of this inaugural exhibition, and we received over 70 entries. We invited Curatorial Advisor Hetti Perkins to shortlist the works. She did an amazing job, whittling the list down to 28 artworks covering a range of mediums.
How Artists are Paid
All artists receive an artist fee to be part of the exhibition and a percentage of the proceeds of originals and prints. For prints, artists receive 80% after costs and for originals, they receive 70% of the sale price. These fees are in alignment with NAVA recommendations.
Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal from whom Outback Highway Development Council Inc received funding for The Outback Way Outdoor Gallery project.
FAQs
How many billboards are there?
Fourteen
How many artists are involved?
27
How long is the outdoor gallery?
111km
What other sights & places are there along the way?
See https://outbackway.org.au/plan-your-trip/
Are the artists being paid?
All artists have received an artist fee and % of prints and originals sold in alignment with guidelines set by NAVA
Can visitors purchase the original artworks?
Yes
Podcasts about the project
November 2019 https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=455794