PrintShopNT has opened its doors on Larrakia Country to become the nation's first Indigenous-owned screen printing and licensed textile manufacturing hub.

Operating as a multi-user facility, PrintShopNT will function both as a commercial manufacturing facility, consolidating the printing activity of Aboriginal artists and arts organisations across the Northern Territory and Australia, as well as being a social community-focused art space.

Owner and founder Nina Fitzgerald - a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman born and raised in Darwin - has extensive experience across First Nations artistic expression and cultural heritage and deep roots in the wider Australian fashion industry.

Fitzgerald is also the owner of the contemporary Aboriginal Art space Laundry Gallery.

Her strong art and fashion background has propelled her PrintShopNT vision to life as an industry-leading hub, with equipment that makes it possible to print textiles and merchandise at a commercial scale – a service not previously offered in the NT.

Fitzgerald says bringing the PrintShopNT concept to fruition has been a long, yet rewarding process.

"PrintShopNT is a project I have been bringing to life for 18 months, but it's been a dream for much longer than that," she said.

"The NT is under-resourced and often disconnected from the broader fashion supply chain - so I am bringing the chain to us."

Despite screen printed textiles from the Top End being featured in museums and exhibitions as far abroad as the Fowler Museum in LA - onsite printing in remote communities has many challenges, including limited access to printing equipment, volumes of stock needed, and costly and complicated logistics.

"Through my work with art centres and remote artists, the lack of options and support there is in the North of Australia for textile designers became evident – currently, all art centres send large percentages of their work to Sydney to get printed at large scale, and freight equipment and resources from interstate," she said.

"I am so proud to set up this new hub to fill these gaps, and most importantly ensure more agency is given to remote artist over their stories, as we will work closely with them here in Darwin and via outreach to their Art Centres."

Fitzgerald says PrintShopNT will not only offer affordable and quality options for commercial screen printing to the broader community, but allow capacity building, and eventually offer internships and education in screen printing - with a particular focus on young people.

"It will offer support to all art centres that use screen printing as a medium, or those who have wanted to try, to create unique and culturally significant textiles and fashion garments on site, right here in Darwin," she said.

The facility has a huge custom-made 14.5-metre screen printing table, an 8-colour T-shirt carousel, an infrared conveyor oven, and the ability to expose screens.

"The goal is to start locally focused and build the capacity locally, but ensure that the Territory is connected to - and elevated in - the national fashion space. So, watch this space," she said.

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