Nestled behind tables laden with earth-toned pots of paint and brushes is the biggest piece of art ever painted in the remote Aboriginal community of Indulkana.

Key points: An Aboriginal art gallery will open in Adelaide on May 17 for emerging artists

An Aboriginal art gallery will open in Adelaide on May 17 for emerging artists It includes studio space where artists from remote communities can meet and create

It includes studio space where artists from remote communities can meet and create The gallery will be run by a collective of 10 Aboriginal enterprises

Measuring almost from wall to wall of the art centre, the two canvases took Betty Chimney and her daughter Raylene Walatinna more than two weeks to paint.

Ms Chimney says the painting that maps her community, now destined for a Sydney art competition, was a significant undertaking.

"It's about this area — Indulkana — the community," Ms Chimney tells the ABC.

Iwantja Arts is home to famed Aboriginal painters, including Vincent Namatjira, who sits listening to music in the adjacent room, prepping a canvas with sky blue paint for an upcoming exhibition.

Established artists like Mr Namatjira have exclusive arrangements with galleries across Australia and the world, attracting a premium price for their works.

But a challenge lies in developing the skills and reputations of emerging artists like Ms Chimney who are trying to break into the competitive art world, and finding ways to connect them with buyers in the big cities.

Artist Maringka Burton paints at Iwantja Arts. ( ABC News: Patrick Martin )

'The beating heart of community'

After more than a decade of planning, the recently formed APY Art Centre Collective, a group of 10 Aboriginal enterprises from central Australia, will open a new art gallery in Adelaide.

Partnering with remote dialysis group Purple House and the NPY Women's Council, the gallery is designed to ensure that Aboriginal people travelling to Adelaide for health reasons can continue to connect with culture and community along the way.

Situated in the former Night Train theatre restaurant in the city's west end, builders are hard at work to strip the site of its former life and get the space ready in time for its opening next month.

The gallery is pitched at emerging artists and will provide a new point of sale for art — both traditional and contemporary — crafted more than 1,000 kilometres away in South Australia's remote APY Lands.

The collective's manager Skye O'Meara says the new gallery will help to move emerging artists beyond having to sell stacked canvases at markets.

"This is what has been thrilling about this project — elders created these opportunities for the young and emerging artists and, with it, it's creating more and more jobs on the APY Lands because young artists are turning up to the art centres knowing that there's opportunities that exist today that didn't exist three years ago," she said.

"The elders refer to the art centres as being the beating heart of community.

"It's a place where culture is celebrated every day and instructed to younger generations, it's a place where the elders meet … they're vital to the life of community."

The collective's model is reaping rewards — it opened its first gallery in central Sydney last year, with turnover already exceeding $1 million.

Sally Scales, Leah Brady and Sandra Pumani are backing the new gallery. ( ABC News: Rebecca Puddy )

Artist Sandra Pumani says the new gallery, with its art studio tucked away behind a door at the rear of the building, will help to keep culture strong for Pitjantjatjaran and Yankunytjatjaran people living in Adelaide.

"We can keep our culture going especially for these kids living in Adelaide, coming in and telling stories," Ms Pumani says.

For Leah Brady, the art gallery will allow sick artists the opportunity to continue to create and connect with culture while having medical treatment at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, located close by.

It will also function as a stopgap to prevent predatory art dealers — known as carpetbaggers — from underpaying Aboriginal artists who need money.

Ms Brady hopes the gallery will also provide a new source of income for people living on the APY Lands, where job opportunities are extremely limited.

For young APY woman Sally Scales, the centres provide a promise of greater financial independence for artists.

"It's about making sure that they have autonomy over their own income," Ms Scales says.

"That's what our art centres have always been about, making sure that people are living and thriving."

For residents of the remote communities scattered across the APY Lands who rely on federal and state funding, the promise of greater financial independence while keeping culture strong is a winning combination.

The group's first gallery in Darlinghurst has brought in more than $1 million in its first year. ( ABC News: David Collins )

APY elder Frank Young hopes that future generations will be able to stay on the lands and earn an income.

"The art centres give everyday money for people," Mr Young says. "They can do some painting, clean up and do a bit of work."

Senior artists will travel down from the APY Lands to open the Adelaide gallery on May 17.