Some of Australia's most renowned Aboriginal art is being made in a tiny cinder-block studio bursting at the seams.
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In the remote community of Hermannsburg, 130 km west of Alice Springs, the famed Hermannsburg Potters work shoulder-to-shoulder in an area with about a dozen work spaces.
It's nowhere near enough for the collective's 30-40 Western Arranta country ceramic artists, heirs to the legacy of the famed Albert Namatjira.
They have shown their work in Australia's major galleries and exhibitions worldwide, including the US and China; on the studio wall, an ageing poster advertises their first exhibition in France in 1998.
International galleries would be amazed to realise that the volume and quality of Hermannsburg ceramics is made in such challenging conditions, according to studio manager Vanessa Sim.
"I think they'd be kind of astonished this is where these incredible artworks are coming from and the artists' ability to make it work," she told AAP.
At times things get so crammed valuable pieces have been broken and it doesn't help that the studio is also the artists' kitchen.
The Hermannsburg Potters movement sprung from an outstation workshop in 1990 and has become known for its vibrant lidded pots adorned with landscapes and native animals.
Founders Rona Rubuntja and Judith Inkamala have also built strong reputations individually and are working on solo shows.
But success has meant the artists have simply outgrown the studio, explains Sim, and with growing interest in Indigenous and ceramic art over the past decade, the number of artists involved has skyrocketed.
A gallery next to the studio is so small one misstep could send a valuable work crashing to the ground, while visiting tourists buy pots but are also a distraction for the artists.
One relatively new face at Hermannsburg, Rex Pareroultja, explains a men's pottery space added in 2018 has an indoor area for three artists only, with most of the work done in a fenced zone outside.
"It's like a chicken house," he said.
In the extreme heat - temperatures can regularly reach 40C - the clay rapidly dries out and cracks.
For emerging talents like Pareroultja, the lack of space is a significant constraint, making it hard to embark on larger artworks or even more than one project at a time.
The Hermannsburg Potters dream of a bigger studio and gallery, with space for tourist workshops and an area to make their own merchandise.
But a funding application to the Northern Territory's Aboriginals Benefit Account, which distributes mining royalties, was knocked back in 2022.
They are currently looking at other avenues including philanthropic support, aware that the expansion will come with a hefty price tag.
"Because it is remote, it's so hard to get materials and resources out there. It just makes building a really expensive process," Sim said.
At any rate, it's a busy time for the renowned artists - later in April they travel to Sydney to see their works installed in the new building at the Art Gallery of NSW.
In May there are exhibitions at the Bett gallery in Hobart and Woolloongabba gallery in Brisbane as part of the Brisbane Art and Design Festival.
And the potters are always experimenting: some of the first pieces in a new cube style have been acquired by the National Gallery of Australia, and they are also testing local clays to make their idiosyncratic lids.
Pareroultja's current project, a large pot adorned with flying red-tailed black cockatoos, sits on a small turntable on his desk.
Even unfinished it's an accomplished piece and speaks to his extraordinary artistic heritage.
His grandfather on his father's side, Edwin Pareroultja, painted with Namatjira and Rex hopes to follow in his grandfather's footsteps.
"I'm trying to be like him, an artist, maybe - one day."
AAP travelled with the assistance of Tourism NT.
Australian Associated Press
