Eight of the Papunya bark paintings went on display for the first time at the Araluen Arts Centre in March 2013.

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has secured a $125,000 grant from the Gordon Darling Foundation in Melbourne to support the research and production of its Papunya exhibition, scheduled for 2017.

It is the first philanthropic donation since becoming an independent statutory authority on 1 July this year. It comes after a private donation received in the amount of $85,000 by Mr Geoff Hassall OAM to support a curatorial contract tied to the same project Minister for Arts and Museums Matt Conlan said it is an example of how the new MAGNT can work differently and more independently than it used to and acquire philanthropic donations in addition to its Government funding.