Purple House
Update 30 July 2015: The federal government has announced $15.3m in funding for the Purple House, to expand treatment to remote Indigenous communities.
The BCA has joined up with member Australian Unity (AU) to support the remarkable resilience and innovation of Indigenous communities in Central Australia and the Western Desert.
We are inviting the community to help raise resources and awareness for this unique organisation by either donating to the Purple House Fund or buying a copy of the book Patrick Tjungurrayi: Beyond Borders.
The Purple House, or Western Desert Nganampa Walytja Palyantjaku Tjutaku Aboriginal Corporation (WDNWPT) is an Alice Springs-based organisation with services in a range of Western Desert and Central Australian communities. They provide a unique and innovative community care and social support service for patients suffering end-stage renal disease.
Pintupi people formed the organisation despite being told by successive governments that dialysis would never be available in remote communities. Collaborating with Papunya Tula Artists, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Sotheby’s, the appeal ran an art auction that raised over a million dollars, which was used to establish a flagship remote community dialysis service in Kintore in the Northern Territory.
The Purple House Fund
The Purple House Fund, established with the assistance of Arnold Bloch Leibler, will allow everyday Australians to support this unique, solutions-focused organisation.
Patrick Tjungurrayi: Beyond Borders
Ala. Alatuti. Oloodoodi. Patrick. Tjungurrayi. He is a man of many names, and they speak to many lives lived. Each handle gets held for a while in different times and places. He was a young warrior by his first name. But by each of his subsequent names he has stood just as proud. By each of those names he has fought for his rights, and the rights of his people, to live their lives their way, on their terms.Through the prism of Patrick’s art and life, this book illuminates a unique part of twentieth century Australian history and art history. It also tells of a health crisis facing Aboriginal people across Australia and an innovative and effective response to this crisis being driven by an extraordinary Indigenous organisation, the Purple House (Western Desert Dialysis).
All proceeds from the sale of this book support the work of the Purple House.
For more information about the Purple House Fund launch view the media release here.