Black Fig Gallery

Black Fig Gallery A curated art gallery in Alstonville, NSW - created for artists & for people who feel the room, and know when something belongs in it. Seasonal collections.

Considered curation. Conversations that matter.

đź’Ą Open:
Wed - Fri 10am - 4pm
Sat - 10am - 2pm

11/06/2026

Guest curator Joan Winter will be in Gallery today from 10:00 to 4:00 p.m. to share all her knowledge on tapa and the Omie people of Papua New Guinea. It's a beautiful collection of work and a rare opportunity to take home work of such rich substance. I am back in on Wednesday for anyone wanting to catch me specifically. Text 0480 676 957 for enquiries or to view the collection privately or by appointment.

11/06/2026

The beautiful Alita that did our December installation of flowers has just launched her new purpose built accommodation in the Northern Rivers and Big Fig Gallery was invited to come take a look at there launch. 🤌🏼 I have no words for how stunning it is. Beautifully designed, well thought out and I can't wait to spend a weekend there soon. Congratulations you two. A work of art.

At first glance, the composition feels strikingly contemporary. Bold geometry, rhythm and contrast draw the eye in. Yet ...
08/06/2026

At first glance, the composition feels strikingly contemporary. Bold geometry, rhythm and contrast draw the eye in. Yet beneath its visual simplicity sits a much deeper story — one of cultural continuity, ancestral knowledge and connection to place.

In Maja Nun (Sun and Rays), senior Ă–mie artist Ilma Ugibari translates a perennial cultural symbol into barkcloth through the highly skilled Sihot'e technique. Concentric circles radiate outward like the first light of day breaking across the volcanic ridges of Ă–mie Country in Papua New Guinea.

Made from hand-beaten barkcloth and painstakingly assembled from individually cut and sewn sections, the work carries the visible evidence of time, labour and tradition. Every mark, join and variation in the surface speaks to a process that has been passed through generations, and mostly by women.

What I find delightfully notable about works like this is their ability to feel both ancient and immediate. The language of the sun is universal. We all understand its warmth, its presence, its daily return. Through Maja Nun, Ilma Ugibari invites us to experience that relationship through an Ă–mie lens and, perhaps, to reflect on the quiet certainty of the sun's return.

Ilma Ugibari (b. 1969)
Sidoraje, Dahoraje sub-clan, Gora Village
Maja Nun (Sun and Rays)
Sihot'e barkcloth

DM or text 0480 676 957
Open Wed - Sat

Today marks one year since Black Fig Gallery opened its doors.To be honest, there were plenty of moments along the way w...
05/06/2026

Today marks one year since Black Fig Gallery opened its doors.

To be honest, there were plenty of moments along the way where I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing. Some things worked beautifully, some things didn't, and most things took a lot more time, energy and courage than I expected.

What has surprised me most is the number of people who have chosen to come along for the ride.

The artists who trusted a brand-new gallery with their work.
The collectors who took home pieces they connected with.
The volunteers, friends, family and community members who showed up, shared posts, told people about us, attended openings, bought a piece, donated to the Fig Fund, or simply walked through the door to see what was happening.

Black Fig Gallery exists because of all of you.

Thank you for every conversation, every risk, every recommendation, every kind word, and every moment of support over the last 365 days.

It's been one year of artists, stories, ideas and connection.

Here's to whatever comes next. I'm genuinely excited.

— Kalie Burgis
♡

05/06/2026

OPENING TONIGHT 5PM - 7.30PM

Black Fig Gallery has an exquisite treat in store for you in our upcoming show The Civilising Skirt, opening on 5th June. Omie tapa or beaten bark cloth was there at the very beginning of time when the first woman on earth- Saja, created the very first wrap around tapa skirt.

After the Omie people of remote PNG ceased holding the very detailed tattooing sessions for initiating teenage boys into manhood, their tattoo motifs were transferred onto tapa.

All of nature is on display and more in this exhibition from our nearest neighbour PNG. We invite you to marvel at this rare and unusual offering.

Private early access tickets for a champagne floor talk with Joan Winter are available at a limited number - 4pm Friday 5th June - please contact 0480 676 957 for more information.
.

Artwork featured:
Front side (left to right)

Penny Rose Sosa Jije Hia’e deje jimue’ jimue translates as The moon, evening star, python skin, small bird and tattoo design

Onesmus Ugiobari
Dahoru’e Mountains

Ilma Ugibari
Maja Nun Sun and rays is the other type of Omie tapa
Sihot’e mud soaked tapa cut and appliqued to the base white tapa cloth.

Dangel Sirimi
Nuanohu’o de Jonohu’o sine sore Front + back torso tattoos given to young male initiants in earlier times. The green colour is highly unusual in any pacific tapa
.

Information side:

Didimus Bojugo
Side – a small clan bird. One of the many totems that help to organize Omie society

Linda Grace Svari
Pigs tusks The Omie observe and paint many body parts of animals and humans
.

The Civilising Skirt
Omie Tapa (beaten bark cloth) Artists PNG
You, your friends and family are invited to the 'The Civilising Skirt’
🗓️ Opening Friday 5th June 2026 | 🕔 5 - 7.30pm
Full exhibition Runs June 4th - July 4th 2026

Gallery Opening Hours: Wednesday - Friday 10-4pm & Saturday 10-2pm or
by appointment | 0480 676 957 | đź“ŤShop 7, Alstonville Plaza, Alstonville NSW

Birds may be one of the oldest obsessions in art history.Before cameras, artists were literally helping document species...
26/05/2026

Birds may be one of the oldest obsessions in art history.
Before cameras, artists were literally helping document species and map the natural world.

Now?
We still paint them.
Not because we need to identify them, but because humans apparently can’t resist projecting all our emotions onto tiny feathered creatures.

Freedom. Grief. Hope. Existential crisis.
Sometimes all in one painting.

These are a range of bird works currently on show at Black Fig Gallery.

DM or text for enquiries o48o 676 957

One of the best parts of owning a gallery is calling an artist to tell them they’ve sold a piece. And one of the other g...
21/05/2026

One of the best parts of owning a gallery is calling an artist to tell them they’ve sold a piece. And one of the other great parts is seeing a work come to life in its new home.

I love seeing the different ways people work pieces into their spaces and lives, or even simply where they choose to place them and how they interact with the room around them. It’s a reminder that once a piece leaves the gallery, it starts a whole new life of its own.

I always appreciate when people send through photos once their artwork has found its place. There’s something really lovely about seeing a piece settle into its new home 🤎

Artwork by Branda Bryant

One of my favourite parts of curating is watching completely different visual languages start speaking to each other.Cub...
20/05/2026

One of my favourite parts of curating is watching completely different visual languages start speaking to each other.

Cubist-inspired ceramics beside a traditional painting of a New Holland Honeyeater.
Contemporary abstract landscapes above vintage timber and native banksias.
Quiet little tensions between texture, form, detail and atmosphere.

None of these works were made to match.
That’s exactly why they work.

Artwork pictured:
Abstract Landscapes - Bridie Amelia Schmidt
New Holland Honeyeater - Rina Hartley
Ceramic forms & Vase - Suvira McDonald

14/05/2026

Black Fig Gallery is a little hidden gem in plain sight.

I love when people wander in having only just discovered us. I hear things like, “I didn’t expect to find a gallery like this here,” or “I love coming back each month to see what’s new.”

That’s exactly what I hoped this space would become: a haven from the world, from the rain and the sun.

Artwork pictured:
Ceramics by Suvira McDonald
Vessel by Dr Ruth Park and Sue Fraser
Portrait by Ash Darq
Landscape by Jemima Patch-Taylor
Abstract landscape by Mim O’Grady

Address

Shop 7, Alstonville Plaza/8-20 Robertson Street
Alstonville, NSW
2477

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm

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