Tapatjatjaka Art andCraft Centre

Eastern Arrernte artists work from a small community 107 kilometres south of Alice Springs, reached by half an hour of sealed road and an hour of dirt off the Stuart Highway. Incorporated in 2008, Tapatjatjaka Art and Craft Centre produces an unusually wide range of work for a desert art centre: paintings in the reds and ochres of the surrounding claypans, felted pieces, batik, punu carving and wire sculptures that recast the region's cattle-station history into figures of camels, horses and mustering scenes built from recycled scrap. The centre exhibits each year at Desert Mob in Alice Springs and takes part in the Beanie Festival, and its gallery in Titjikala is open to visitors who call or email ahead — it can close at short notice for sorry business, as is customary. It is not a casual detour; a 4WD is recommended for the unsealed stretch. But for travellers already on the Stuart Highway, it is a direct route into the art and materials of the Simpson Desert's western fringe.