Tarnanthi (pronounced tar-nan-dee) is a Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art held in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, annually. Presented by the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

(AGSA) in association with the South Australian Government and

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

. It is curated by

Nici Cumpston Nici Cumpston, (born 1963) is an Australian photographer, painter, curator, writer, and educator. Early life and education Cumpston's family background is Barkindji (an Aboriginal people of New South Wales), Afghan, Irish and English. Born ...

History

The South Australian Government and BHP initially negotiated funding, before approaching AGSA about hosting the festival. The first edition of the festival was held by AGSA in 2015, which said it was "the most ambitious exhibition of

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

art in GSA's134-year history". The word ''tarnanthi'' is a

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

word from the traditional owners of the

Adelaide Plains The Adelaide Plains (Kaurna name Tarndanya) is a plain in South Australia lying between the coast (Gulf St Vincent) on the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east. The southernmost tip of the plain is in the southern seaside suburbs of Ade ...

, the

Kaurna people The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

, meaning "to rise, come forth, spring up or appear", or "to emerge", like the sun at first light. It signifies new beginnings. As artistic director since the inaugural event,

, a

Barkindji The Paakantyi, or Barkindji or Barkandji, are an Australian Aboriginal tribal group of the Darling River (known to them as the Baaka) basin in Far West New South Wales, Australia. Name The ethnonym Paakantyi means "River people", formed from ...

artist and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

based at AGSA, collaborated with a group of elders and community members who speak the language to help translate the word used as the name, as well as Kaurna Language Revival Unit at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. She has also collaborated with many others, representing arts centres from all over Australia. Those hailing from the South Australian desert have been well-represented: the Anangu,

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...

and Yankunytjatjara people from the

APY lands Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...

JamFactory JamFactory is a not-for-profit arts organisation which includes training facilities, galleries and shops, located in Adelaide city centre, the West End precinct of Adelaide and on the Seppeltsfield (wine), Seppeltsfield Estate in the Barossa Val ...

has been involved with the event since the first edition. There was no exhibition in 2016, but by 2017 it had expanded to include an Indigenous art fair at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, as well as a large number of satellite exhibitions spread throughout Adelaide and beyond, featuring more than 1000 artists. Tarnanthi had attracted over 1.4 million visitors between its first edition in 2015 and its fifth in 2020. In October 2021, funding was assured for a further three years.

Description

Tarnanthi seeks to present

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

history and culture as a legacy to be shared by all Australians, showcasing the expansiveness of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art "on a scale that adn'tbeen seen before". It is intended as a broad platform, at which artists can exhibit their work in a way that does not pigeonhole their work. It includes an annual Art Fair as well as artist talks, performances and events.

Exhibitions

2015

A tribute to

Ngarra Ngarra (1920–2008) was an Aboriginal Australian artist of the Andinyin and Gija peoples, known for his paintings on canvas and paper which depicted his homelands in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, along with events from the ancestr ...

, from

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

in the Western Desert of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, was included in the inaugural exhibition, along with "the Namatjira Collection", watercolours painted in the tradition of Albert Namatjira by his descendants. The 2015 exhibition also included work by Warwick Thornton, film-maker from

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

, as well as Dinni Kunoth Petyarre and Josie Kunoth Petyarre, residents of

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

, with artworks exploring the world of "bush footy" through painted hand carvings of figures representing 16

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

teams. There was a focus exhibition of work by Yvonne Koolmatrie. The whole event was a huge success, featuring works from more than 1000 artists and attracting more than 300,000 visitors.

2017

In 2017, artists from the APY lands produced several enormous works for installation at AGSA, including two paintings on repurposed canvas mailbags, both stretched to three metres by five. 21 men collaborated on one work, 24 women on the other, with contributions spanning seven communities from the far northwest of SA:

Pukatja Pukatja (formerly Ernabella) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pipalyatjara, Fregon/Kaltjiti, ...

, Amata,

Mimili Mimili is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pukatja, Kaltjiti, Indulkana and Pipalyatjara). At ...

Indulkana Indulkana (also known as Iwantja, from Iwantja Creek) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Ernabella/Puka ...

, Nyapari, Fregon and Kalka. A centrepiece of the 2017 event was a part of the ongoing ''Kulata Tjuta'' (“Many Spears”) project that would have than 600 spears suspended from the ceiling of AGSA in the shape of a mushroom cloud, representing the ongoing impact of the 1950s and 60s British nuclear testing on Anangu country.

2018

The 2018 exhibition at AGSA featured the work of

John Mawurndjul John Mawurndjul (born 1951) is a highly regarded Australian contemporary Indigenous artist. He uses traditional motifs in innovative ways to express spiritual and cultural values, and is especially known for his distinctive and innovative creat ...

bark painting Bark painting is an Australian Aboriginal art form, involving painting on the interior of a strip of tree bark. This is a continuing form of artistic expression in Arnhem Land (especially among the Yolngu peoples) and other regions in the Top ...

s in the first major exhibition of his work in Australia, with a focus exhibition entitled ''John Mawurndjul: I am the old and the new''.

2019

In July 2019 it was announced that the Tarnanthi Festival would run from 18 to 27 Oct 2019, with the Art Fair at Tandanya on the opening weekend and the AGSA exhibition continuing until 27 January 2020. The exhibition will feature exhibits from over 1000 artists from all over the continent and the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...

, ranging in age from 15 to 81 years and working in a wide range of media: painting, photography, printmaking, carving, sculpture, moving image, works on paper and textiles. Opening night was on 17 October, with Yolŋu rap artist Baker Boy performing at the opening event outside the Gallery on North Terrace. An exhibition of colonial artworks alongside the tools and objects of Aboriginal people, accompanied by carefully researched text and commentary by Wiradjuri/ Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones, writer and researcher

Bruce Pascoe Bruce Pascoe (born 1947) is an Aboriginal Australian writer of literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and children's literature. As well as his own name, Pascoe has written under the pen names Murray Gray and Leopold Glass. Since August 2 ...

and historian

Bill Gammage William Leonard Gammage (born 1942) is an Australian academic historian, adjunct professor and senior research fellow at the Humanities Research Centre of the Australian National University (ANU). Gammage was born in Orange, New South Wales, w ...

, is the subject of an exhibition entitled ''Bunha-bunhanga: Aboriginal agriculture in the south-east'', mounted in the AGSA's Elder Wing, Gallery 1 and the Museum of Economic Botany. Jones created a series of outsize

grindstone A grindstone, also known as grinding stone, is a sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools, used since ancient times. Tools are sharpened by the stone's abrasive qualities that remove material from the tool through friction ...

s within the Museum building.

2020

The 2020 exhibition, held from 16 October 2020 until 31 January 2021, was subtitled ''Open Hands'', and focused on Indigenous women artists. The works by 87 artists included

Naomi Hobson Naomi Hobson (born 1979) is an Aboriginal Australian artist of southern Kaantju and Umpila heritage from Lockhart River, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. She works in many media, including painting, photography and ceramics. She started exhib ...

's ''Adolescent Wonderland''; work from the Tangentyere Artists in Mparntwe (Alice Springs; woven sculptures from

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

; and works from Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Occurring during the

COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Timeline 2020 On 11 March, the SA state go ...

, there was some uncertainty whether it could go ahead, and when it did, AGSA had to work within various restrictions and precautions to ensure that it was safe, with the Art Fair postponed to early December.

2021

In 2021, as the pandemic continued, the Art Fair went online, but the exhibition was mounted from mid-October to the end of January at the art gallery and partner venues, including the

Migration Museum Migration museums cover human migration in the past, present and future. Background The current trend in the development of migration museums, named differently worldwide, is an interesting phenomenon, as it may contribute to the creation of a n ...

, the South Australian Museum,

(Adelaide and Seppeltsfield), Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery and Yarta Purtli Gallery at the

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

Cultural Centre. The exhibition included works by 189 artists at the gallery, including large works by Gail Mabo and

Julie Gough Julie Gough (born 1965) is an artist, writer and curator based in Tasmania, Australia. Early life and education Gough was born in 1965 in Melbourne. Her paternal heritage is Scottish and Irish, while her maternal Aboriginal heritage is of ...

, with around 1400 other artists participating in total.

2023

In 2023 The

as part of the Tarnanthi Festival will show ''

Vincent Namatjira Vincent Namatjira (born 14 June 1983) is an Aboriginal Australian artist living in Indulkana, in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia. He has won many art awards, and after being nominated for the Archiba ...

: Australia in Colour'' and portray the artist's first survey exhibition.

References

{{reflist

External links

About Tarnanthi
Art festivals in Australia Arts in Adelaide Australian Aboriginal art