In May 2025, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Indulkana Anangu School to work with the teachers and students on a mural project that they designed. It was a truly unforgettable experience that blended art, education, and deep cultural connection.
What I loved About This Project:
Collaboration
The students were involved in every step, they brainstormed, designed, and installed the murals themselves. When I first arrived in Indulkana, we didn’t even have a sketch! I spent a day working closely with the amazing Art Teacher, Zoe Ingoldby-Craig, guiding the students through creative exercises and design ideas.
Originally, we had planned for one mural. But with so much enthusiasm (and a lot of paint!), we ended up completing three murals and two aerosol workshops in just one week.
We finished one wall and still had paint so we found more walls to transform.
Culture & Landscape
Listening and learning from the students, teachers, and community was a true privilege. Their traditions and Pitjantatjara language were captivating. At the same time, I was moved by the very real challenges Indigenous students face.
The passion and dedication of the teachers inspired me deeply. Despite behaviour challenges and limited resources, they show up every day for their students.
The landscape and surroundings were truly inspiring; colourful sunsets, red earth, and wide open skies that made the whole place feel expansive and alive.
Student Engagement
The student buy-in was incredible. Some students who weren’t regularly attending school came in each day, excited to paint. The staff told me how amazing it was to see the kids so focused and engaged.
There was a real buzz, teachers, students, and community members stopped by to watch, chat, and even join in. It felt like a whole-community celebration of art, culture, and learning.
Outcome
The murals were stunning! Vibrant, incorporating native plants, and completely student-led. On Friday afternoon, we passed by one of the walls and found a group of students just standing there, proud and smiling.
We joined them for a chat and a kicked the footy, one of my favourite moments from the whole trip.
Local artist, Sonia (also Mum of students at the school) generously sketched out the design and then the students used this as a reference to draw these plants on the wall. She chose to include kampuṟarpa (also called bush tomato), mangaṯa (also known as quandong) and Utiṟalya (also called bush banana) plants and we add the names in Pitjantatjara.
Connections
Spending time with the community in Indulkana was life-changing. I loved sharing my spray-painting skills and seeing students grow in confidence and creativity.
It was a powerful contrast to life in Geelong, a reminder of the diversity and strength in remote communities. I left feeling both heartbroken by the barriers these students face and deeply inspired by their resilience.
This trip broke my heart and filled my soul.
THANK YOU
Thank you to Carclew for funding this project with their Project and Development Grant.
Big thank you to the entire staff who welcomed me and added to the wall, creating such a collaborative project. Special mention to Liam, Imogen, Tahlia Pynor, Nicole (Vice Principal), Sharon (Acting Principal), Steph Farrall, Markeeta Roe-Phillips who all contributed and made this project successful.
Thank you to the team at Iwantja Arts for coming by and bringing some of the artists to add to the wall. It was really special to have them see what the students have been doing and have artists like Betty Muffler add to the collaborative free-wall. What an honour to have a project with this collaboration!
Thank you to Zoe for inviting me to your school and sharing a your passion for remote teaching with me. I’m still in awe of how you build relationships with students and connect between creative education and student wellbeing.
To hear about Zoe’s experience teaching in remote community, I interviewed her in this blog: Teaching in Indulkana; Remote Education.
One section of the mural we kept as a free-wall where students, staff and community members could come and add their name or mark to the wall. Over the week it developed into layers and layers of experimentation, colour and texture. This was a fabulous way for everyone to be involved and practice their techniques on a corrugated surface.
Students painting mangaṯa.
Mangaṯa
“It was an absolute pleasure to have the experience of working with Leah on this project. The students were involved throughout the project from creating the design to transferring it to a large space adjacent to the school. Community members were encouraged to work alongside their children to contribute to the final product which is in a prominent location for all to see as they enter the community.
A second mural was painted on the school site and the work of the Senior Fellas. The experience for all involved was invaluable as it provided the opportunity to work collaboratively and learn new skills as well as feeling proud of creating the artwork which has meaning for the community.
Leah was an engaging artist and able to communicate with students across all year levels. We thoroughly enjoyed the creative process and Leah’s ability to fit into the rhythm of our school and community.”
