A unique cultural experience in Australia's Top end

gallery and workshop in the aboriginal community of Nauiyu Daly River

DRY SEASON POP-UPS

TACTILE ARTS MAKERS MARKET - July 2025

DARWIN ABORIGINAL ART FAIR - August 2025

Merrepen Arts - an opportunity to buy direct and support Aboriginal artists

Merrepen Arts, Culture and Language Aboriginal Corporation was established by local people in 1986 in Nauiyu Community in Australia’s Northern Territory. We are 225 km south of Darwin in the Daly River region, a scenic 2.5 – 3 hr drive on bitumen roads.

The Corporation is an ‘art centre’, known simply as Merrepen Arts, and is a non-profit, locally owned social enterprise. We are the local artists’ cooperative and our 100 or so members create arts and crafts in a range of media, both traditional and contemporary. All proceeds from sales go to supporting members and the sustainability of the art centre.

We are famous for our superb fabric designs, especially hand screen-printed, and bold, vibrant acrylic/canvas paintings.

View Artists

Visit Merrepen

Group photo of the Aboriginal women who founded Merrepen Arts

for sales and visitor enquiries please contact us

email ceo@merrepenarts.com.au or 08 89782533

Works for Sale

Paintings

Prints

Fabrics

Weaving

Visitor Information

Open Weekdays

The Merrepen gallery is open on week days subject to staffing. Please email to confirm if you are planning a trip. We are generally open all year round but is sometimes closed over the Christmas holidays and when the Merrepen team are working off site.

Getting To Merrepen

Drive to Adelaide River. Take a right turn immediately after Adelaide River. Follow the signs to Daly River. Merrepen is located in the Aboriginal Community of Nauiyu. The road is bitumen from Darwin. Caution is advised, particularly in the wet season. It is also wise to keep a look out for wandering stock including wild buffalos. Safest to drive in daylight hours.

Flood Watch

The community is vulnerable to inundation during the wet season. Merrepen was hit by floodwaters in 1998 and again in 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019 and though the actual gallery is protected from floodwaters by its second story aspect, situated above peak floodwater levels, it still suffered significant equipment and material loss and associated building damage at ground level. Flood is a constant threat to the community and the gallery.

No Permit Needed

No permit is required to visit the community.

What You See

The gallery and workshop situated in a tropical garden is currently used for display and sale of art works plus houses MACLAC’s own collection of artefacts, art works and cultural items that have been repatriated to the community.

The gallery also houses a small “knowledge and language centre” where community members are working on repatriating and archiving items of importance to the community and region from the past 100 years. The knowledge centre holds vital recordings and transcripts of stories translated from language to English to be held for future generations.