Tarnanthi Festival

Tarnanthi Festival
Name	Tarnanthi Festival
Location	Adelaide, South Australia
Years active	2015–present
Founded	2015
Founders	Art Gallery of South Australia

Tarnanthi Festival Tarnanthi is an annual contemporary Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander art festival held in Adelaide, South Australia. It is presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia in collaboration with galleries, museums, cultural centres and community organisations across the state. The festival showcases work by established and emerging artists from a range of Indigenous communities including the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, Yolngu, Tiwi Islands, Kuku Yalanji and Arrernte nations.

Overview

Tarnanthi presents a program of exhibitions, public programs, talks and marketplace events produced by the Art Gallery of South Australia, JamFactory Contemporary Craft and Design, South Australian Museum, Andamooka Arts, MINING ART CENTRE, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute and regional organisations such as Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs Desert Park, Maruku Arts and Warlukurlangu Artists; it engages curators, artists, elders and community leaders including representatives from National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia, Australian War Memorial, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and international partners such as British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern and Smithsonian Institution. The festival’s name reflects collaboration with Indigenous stakeholders, cultural custodians and institutions like South Australia History Trust, Australia Council for the Arts, CREATE NSW and First Nations Media Australia.

History and Development

The festival was initiated by the Art Gallery of South Australia in 2015 under leadership aligned with national initiatives from Australia Council for the Arts and regional funding programs from South Australian Tourism Commission and Department of the Premier and Cabinet (South Australia). Early editions received loans and exchanges with collections from National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and community art centres including Papunya Tula Artists, Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council and Ramingining Arts Centre. Over successive years the festival expanded through partnerships with international exhibitions involving Louvre, Uffizi Gallery, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Centre Pompidou, Kunsthalle Basel and cultural diplomacy initiatives with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia).

Programmes and Exhibitions

Tarnanthi curatorial projects have included solo retrospectives, thematic surveys and cross-cultural commissions, drawing on artists associated with Desart, Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA), Indigenous Art Centre Alliance, Aboriginal Enterprise Development (AEDA) and community-run enterprises like Maruku Arts, Tiwi Design, Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre and Warlayirti Artists. Notable programming models referenced institutions such as Art Basel, Sydney Biennale, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Biennale of Sydney and exhibition frameworks used by Documenta and Venice Biennale. The festival has presented cross-disciplinary commissions incorporating textile practice with Australian Tapestry Workshop, ceramics with JamFactory Contemporary Craft and Design, printmaking with APY Art Centre Collective, weaving linked to Kering Foundation collaborations and multimedia projects referencing NAVA standards and curatorial exchanges with International Council of Museums.

Artists and Collaborations

Participants have included artists from community art centres and collectives like Papunya Tula Artists, Warlukurlangu Artists, Warmun Art Centre, Iwantja Arts, Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency, Dotun Popoola, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Lin Onus, Yvonne Koolmatrie, Gordon Bennett (artist), John Mawurndjul, Ngarralja Tommy May, Brook Andrew, Rover Thomas, Bill Henson, Vernon Ah Kee and emerging practitioners supported via Australia Council for the Arts fellowships, ArtStart grants and partnerships with University of Adelaide, Flinders University, University of South Australia, Monash University and University of Melbourne. Collaborative projects have involved curators and scholars from Griffith University, Australian National University, University of Sydney and international researchers from University College London, Yale University, Harvard University and University of Toronto.

Venues and Events

Core venues include the Art Gallery of South Australia, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide Festival Centre, State Library of South Australia, Migration Museum, Adelaide Town Hall and regional sites such as Ceduna Arts Centre, Port Augusta Cultural Centre, Mount Gambier Civic Centre, Robe Town Hall and community art centres across the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, Fleurieu Peninsula, Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and Barossa Valley. The festival’s public program features markets, artist talks, panel discussions and workshops modelled on itineraries used by Smithsonian Folklife Festival, National Folk Festival (Australia), Vivid Sydney and Dreamworld-style engagement, while collaborations extend to performing arts partners such as Bangarra Dance Theatre, Black Arm Band, Australian Dance Theatre and music programs with APRA AMCOS and Deadly Awards alumni.

Impact and Reception

Tarnanthi has been recognised in commentary from critics associated with Artforum, The Guardian (Australia), The Australian, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News, SBS News, The Conversation, ArtAsiaPacific and trade coverage in The Advertiser (Adelaide). Its impact includes increased visibility for community art centres like Papunya Tula, strengthened institutional collecting by National Gallery of Australia and international loans to institutions such as British Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art, and economic benefits reported to agencies including South Australian Tourism Commission and Australia Council for the Arts. The festival has prompted scholarly analysis in journals affiliated with Australian Aboriginal Studies, Museum Anthropology Review, Journal of Material Culture and has influenced policy discussions within Australia Council for the Arts and state cultural strategies.

Category:Festivals in Adelaide Category:Indigenous Australian art