Colours of our Country returns for its 21st year

Business

Colours of our Country returns for its 21st year

2026-09-21 08:30 Last Updated At：08:50

PERTH, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 20, 2026--

More than 120 artworks celebrating the enduring connection between people, Country and culture in the Pilbara will go on sale this month, as Colours of our Country returns for its 21st year.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260920420069/en/

This year's exhibition will run from 21 September to 2 October, showcasing the work of 29 Pilbara artists, including artists from the Cheeditha Art Group and Yinjaa-Barni Art Centre.

A painting by Cheeditha Art Group member Wendy Warrie, titled Out on the Horizon, has been chosen as the signature artwork for the 2026 exhibition. Ms Warrie, a Kariyarra and Yindjibarndi woman, has been painting for more than two decades, using her art to share stories of Country, culture, family and community. She is this year’s Signature Artist and Artist in Residence.

Ms Warrie said: "My painting at Colours of our Country is called ‘ Out on theHorizon '. When I was painting it, I was thinking about sitting out at the beach and watching the sun go down, trying to get a fish at the same time.

“All my paintings are a true story of what I've been doing in my life."

Since its 2006 launch, Colours of our Country has sold more than 3,325 artworks, with more than A$3.6 million going directly to Pilbara artists, art centres and their communities.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive Matthew Holcz said: “As Rio Tinto marks 60 years in the Pilbara, Colours of our Country reminds us of the rich culture, stories and artistic traditions that have been a part of the Pilbara region for tens of thousands of years.

"What began as part of Rio Tinto Iron Ore's 40th anniversary celebrations has grown into a much-loved annual exhibition that has supported hundreds of artists and helped share Pilbara Aboriginal culture with audiences in Australia and around the world.

"For two decades, Colours of our Country has connected artists with new audiences, while ensuring the benefits of every sale flow back to artists, art centres and communities."

The exhibition will be open weekdays from 8:00am to 4:30pm at Central Park Tower, 152-158 St Georges Terrace, Perth. Artworks are available for purchase at the exhibition and online at coloursofourcountry.com with all proceeds going directly to artists, art centres and their communities.

ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas, officials say

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Austin, Texas, local authorities said, and anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene.

The man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on the capital city's north side, Austin officials said at a news conference.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not participate in the news conference and didn’t respond to repeated requests for details.

City police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said while briefing reporters along with the city's mayor and other officials.

Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said he wants the city's police department to have a role in the investigation so it can provide “clear, third-party eyes” in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct an investigation on its own.

Austin residents have “a right to feel safe in their city,” Watson said. A proper investigation will only enhance credibility, he added.

The chief said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the incident but added that her department’s special investigation unit was at the scene.

An immigration attorney representing the man’s family identified him as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man.

Attorney Kate Lincoln Goldfinch said in a video posted to her Instagram account that she believed he had no criminal history and no final order of removal from the U.S., but she later told The Associated Press that she did not know his current immigration status.

The man’s family has struggled to get any information from the hospital about his status or location, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.

Just before 7 p.m., the man’s wife was informed by the hospital’s attorney that the man had been released into ICE custody a few hours earlier, Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote in a text to AP.

“No one bothered to update her,” she wrote.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the man remained hospitalized while in ICE custody or if he had been transferred elsewhere.

A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes. The car was towed away in the early evening and traffic began moving again.

A large law enforcement presence was present along with a crowd of about a hundred protesters. Some demonstrators cursed at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled out as passing cars honked in support of the protest. One man held a sign saying, “Nobody is safe” and, on the other side, “ICE Nazi.”

Asked if Austin authorities knew where the involved federal agent is, given that agents have left states after previous shootings nationwide, the mayor said: “We do not know that. But my hope would be that, an agent that’s involved in an officer-involved shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state."

The office of Travis County District Attorney José Pompa Garza asked that local police and prosecutors be included in the investigation.

“We further request cooperation from the federal government in giving us access to the evidence,” the DA's office said in a statement Sunday evening.

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated.

“It is awful that this horror has come to our doorstep," Casar told reporters. "For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here.”

The shooting comes as ICE surges enforcement across the country this summer, producing more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August.

In July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

Also in July, 25-year-old Johan Sebastián, a Colombian man, was shot by an ICE officer in Maine. The officer is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets, several of his close relatives told AP.

The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

Weber reported from Los Angeles and Boone from Boise, Idaho. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis.