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Ernabella ceramic slipcast vases by, from left, Nungalka Stanley, Tjimpuna Williams and Nyukana (Daisy) Baker. Photo: George Serras.
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National Museum curator Andy Greenslade said updating the collection meant it was a living document of the community's art and cultural practice.
The lastest acquisition includes archival material, along with the batiks and ceramics.
It builds on earlier collections which came to the National Museum from sources including the Aboriginal Arts Board and Deaconess Winifred Hilliard, who lived and worked in the community for many years.
The Museum's relationship with the Ernabella community is
two-way and extends well beyond material culture.
Visitors from Ernabella have staged performances and forums at the Museum in Canberra, viewed other Ernaballa material in the collection and seen their work on exhibition for the first time.
'The Ernabella community and the National Museum share a special relationship and it is one that is dyanmic and reciprocal,' Andy said.
'The collection doesn't just stand testament to those people and organisations that had the foresight to amass it, nor does it just give a history of a particular period of the Ernabella community art centre. It is part of a rich and continuing tradition.'
The collection traces the development of Ernabella Arts from its beginnings as an organisation established to provide employment for women, working with locally produced wool, to its international renown for batiks and printmaking.
The National Museum collection also documents less successful ventures, including copper beating and stone carving.
Today, Ernabella artists are represented in major collections across Australia and the world.
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