Kintore (Pintupi: Waḻungurru — IPA: [ˈwɐɭʊŋʊɾʊ]) is a small, remote settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia. The community lies roughly 530 km (330 mi) west of Alice Springs, close to the border with Western Australia.
People and community
The population of Kintore is predominantly Aboriginal, with most residents identifying as Pintupi. The settlement serves as a focal point for people who maintain strong cultural and family ties to the surrounding desert country.
History
Kintore was established in 1981 when many Pintupi families chose to leave the government settlement at Papunya and return to their traditional lands. This return movement followed decades in which some groups had been removed from their homelands for a range of reasons, including weapons testing carried out at Woomera and other pressures in South Australia.
Art and culture
Kintore is recognised as an important centre of the Western Desert art movement, a modern painting tradition that began at Papunya in the 1970s. Artists from Kintore produce works that translate dreamtime (Dreaming) narratives and ancestral knowledge into richly patterned paintings. Several painters associated with the Papunya Tula art cooperative live and work in Kintore, and their work has attracted national and international attention.
Notes
- Location: remote desert region near the NT–WA border.
- Established: 1981, as part of a movement of Pintupi people returning to country.
- Cultural significance: major centre for Western Desert painting and Pintupi cultural life.