Tarnanthi

Tarnanthi A continuous celebration of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art Find us on Twitter & Instagram

The name (pronounced tar-nan-dee) comes from the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains. It means to come forth or appear – like the sun and the first emergence of light. Tarnanthi is a platform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the country to share important stories. It encourages new beginnings by providing artists with opportunit

ies to create significant new work and to extend their practice. It illuminates the diversity and depth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art by presenting an annual exhibition, art fair, artist talks, performances and events. Tarnanthi is led by Artistic Director Nici Cumpston, AGSA’s Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art. With the heart of the Festival at the Art Gallery of South Australia, partner exhibitions are featured at diverse venues - from regional galleries to city hospitals, town halls to university campuses and museums to artist studio spaces. Tarnanthi is presented in partnership with BHP and with the support of the Government of South Australia.

Don't miss seeing Kumarangk at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental Gallery, closing this Saturday 4 April. Featuring a mi...
30/03/2026

Don't miss seeing Kumarangk at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental Gallery, closing this Saturday 4 April.

Featuring a mix of traditional and contemporary art mediums, Kumarangk showcases existing paintings, sculptures and weavings alongside ambitious new works in weaving and soft sculpture by multiple generations of Ngarrindjeri women artists.

At the centre of this exhibition is the remounting of Aunty Sandra Saunders’ historic Hindmarsh Island Collection, a series of mixed-media acrylic paintings and wire-based works that document and depict the events of the Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy from the Ngarrindjeri women’s position, combined with a major new painting commission from her that reflects on events from today’s perspective.

Kumarangk also displays newly commissioned and pre-existing works from other Ngarrindjeri women artists, including Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, Aunty Betty Sumner, Sonya Rankine, Carly Dodd and the Mardawi collective of Ngarrindjeri women weavers. Among the artists are women who were leaders of the resistance to the Hindmarsh Island bridge development (Trevorrow, Saunders and Sumner) as well as a new generation of artists (Dodd, Rankine and the Mardawi collective) who have inherited the legacy of community organising and continuous culture.

🎨 Sandra Saunders, Ngarrindjeri/Boandik people, South Australia, born Millicent, South Australia 1947, Nature's Justice, 2025, Port Lincoln, South Australia, oil on hardboard, 130.0 x 75.0cm; photo: Nat Rogers.

📣 Calling all experienced First Nations visual art curators and artistic directors 📣AGSA is seeking expressions of inter...
25/03/2026

📣 Calling all experienced First Nations visual art curators and artistic directors 📣

AGSA is seeking expressions of interests for the role of Artistic Director, Tarnanthi (due 4 May), and is recruiting for the position of Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art (due 8 May).

Expressions of interest and applicants must identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

Apply now: https://loom.ly/RSZHUHQ

📸 Saige Prime

This Friday evening, you’re invited to join Pitjantjatjara and Adnyamathanha artist Patrick Ferguson at the to celebrat...
25/02/2026

This Friday evening, you’re invited to join Pitjantjatjara and Adnyamathanha artist Patrick Ferguson at the to celebrate his solo exhibition ‘Warnduwatya wirti inhaadi (Very good wood here)’.

Meet the artist, take in the exhibition and enjoy free wine tastings, roaming canapés and live music at Unwined Uncovered: Sensational Sparkling 💥

This is the last day to view the exhibition!

___

Meet the Artist
Friday 27 Feb 2026
5-7pm
Ground Floor, National Wine Centre Artspace
Free

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Master carver Patrick Ikaringanyi Ferguson presents shields, weapons and other traditional works made from punu (wood) collected from his homelands and crafted using traditional and innovative techniques. Ferguson learnt woodcarving skills from his grandmother when he was young, and for the past twenty years it has been his passion. During trips to his Country in northern South Australia, he carefully selects timber and other materials to create his unique pieces. His work has been exhibited across Australia and internationally.

photo: Patrick Ferguson, Pitjantjatjara/Adnyamathanha people, South Australia, born Broken Hill, New South Wales 1976, Battle shield, Hookina Creek, Yapala Station, Hawker, South Australia, wood (Red River Gum)

Next Friday, join proud Wangkumaran artist Crista Bradshaw and Yankunytjatjara poet, artist and writer Ali Cobby Eckerma...
04/02/2026

Next Friday, join proud Wangkumaran artist Crista Bradshaw and Yankunytjatjara poet, artist and writer Ali Cobby Eckermann for a lunchtime conversation exploring Crista’s residency with the City Archives, developed through The Guildhouse Collections Project + City of Adelaide.

Taking place on the final day of her exhibition, Between the Archives: an Indigenous Perspective, the talk offers insight into Crista’s research within the City’s photographic archives and how stories of place, memory, and mapping on Kaurna Yarta informed her work.

Ideal for arts audiences, students, creatives, and anyone curious about Adelaide’s cultural history, the talk invites you to see how a First Nations artist brings archival collections into new light. Bring your lunch, settle in at ART POD, and join us for a thoughtful and engaging discussion.

📅 Fri 13 Feb, 12.30-1.30pm
📍ART POD, 25 Pirie St, Adelaide
⚡Register: https://loom.ly/2t0kNwY

Photo: Lana Adams

Woven within Stars reflects stories that connect Country and culture. It includes new and existing works by nine First N...
19/01/2026

Woven within Stars reflects stories that connect Country and culture. It includes new and existing works by nine First Nations artists from regional South Australia.

Curated by Tarnanthi Regional Curator Marika Davies, this is the second exhibition from the award-winning Regional Tarnanthi program, presented in partnership between Country Arts SA and Tarnanthi.

This iteration features the work of Roy Coulthard, Jonas Dare, Regg Dodd, Patricia Fatt, Donny McKenzie, Regina McKenzie, Lavinia Richards, Jenna Richards and Vera Richards.

See Woven within Stars at Fabrik Arts and Heritage until 1 Mar 2026.

📸 1: Jenna Richards working on a large-scale ink painting in Galinyala (Port Lincoln), South Australia, 2025; photo: Nat Rogers. 2: Luritja/Lower Southern Arrernte and Kuyani/Walpi artist Regina McKenzie working in the studio in Hawker, South Australia, 2025; photo: Nat Rogers. 3: Vera Richards painting portraits of her family in the studio in Galinyala (Port Lincoln), South Australia, 2025; photo: Nat Rogers

19/01/2026

As Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi comes to a close, we mark the end of an exhibition shaped by deep cultural knowledge, artistic excellence and generosity. Beginning with a powerful launch on North Terrace, the exhibition unfolded through works created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists nationwide.

We thank the artists, communities and collaborators whose contributions made this milestone exhibition possible, and everyone who took the time to engage, reflect and connect with the works.

📽️ Dinosaur Disco

'Before Captain Cook, before whitefellas came, Aboriginal people always knew their Country, and their sacred sites. That...
15/01/2026

'Before Captain Cook, before whitefellas came, Aboriginal people always knew their Country, and their sacred sites. That’s why we’re painting over the names of places, and the borders and boundaries on the maps – they’re not ours, we know our own land.'

In Tjukurpa Kunpu Mulapa, Mumu Mike Williams and Sammy Dodd spoke to an unbroken lineage of Aṉangu knowledge, an understanding of Country that predates borders.

Here, the artists have painted over Australia Post mailbags using motifs that frame the works as acts of cultural assertion: using language, material and image to reaffirm Aṉangu sovereignty, continuity and authority over Country.

See Tjukurpa Kunpu Mulapa in Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi until 18 Jan 2026.

📸 Mumu Mike Williams, Pitjantjatjara people, South Australia, born Inturjanu between Kenmore Park and Pukatja (Ernabella), Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia 1952, died Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Northern Territory 2 March 2019, Sammy Dodd, Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara people, South Australia, born Winpiranganyi, South Australia 1946, Tjukurpa Kunpu Mulapa, 2016, Mimili, Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, South Australia, © the artist courtesy of Mimili Maku Artists.

Master carver Patrick Ikaringanyi Ferguson presents shields, weapons and other traditional works made from punu (wood) c...
13/01/2026

Master carver Patrick Ikaringanyi Ferguson presents shields, weapons and other traditional works made from punu (wood) collected from his homelands and crafted using traditional and innovative techniques.

Ferguson learnt woodcarving skills from his grandmother when he was young, and for the past twenty years it has been his passion.

During trips to his Country in northern South Australia, he carefully selects timber and other materials to create his unique pieces. His work has been exhibited across Australia and internationally.

See Warnduwatya wirti inhaadi (Very good wood here) at the National Wine Centre until 27 Feb 2026.

📸 Patrick Ferguson, Pitjantjatjara/Adnyamathanha people, South Australia, born Broken Hill, New South Wales 1976, Battle shield, Hookina Creek, Yapala Station, Hawker, South Australia, wood (Red River Gum)

Mokuy are spirit sculptures made by Nawurapu Wunungmurra of the Dhalwangu clan of northeast Arnhem Land, featuring Yirri...
10/01/2026

Mokuy are spirit sculptures made by Nawurapu Wunungmurra of the Dhalwangu clan of northeast Arnhem Land, featuring Yirritja moiety triangular cloud designs known as wangupini. These forms are also connected to larrakitj (memorial poles) and relate to his Gurrumuru homeland.

Yolŋu sacred songs tell of the first rising clouds on the horizon, signals of the Macassan praus arriving and departing with seasonal winds. These movements mirror cycles of grief, death, and rebirth, where sunsets, clouds, and changing seasons recall loss and the return of spirit.

In 2016, Nawurapu Wunungmurra applied these revived triangular cloud designs to mokuy for the first time, drawing on Gurrumuru miny’tji and Yolŋu law. The motifs speak to the water cycle of souls, from ocean to cloud to rain, and the ongoing renewal of life.

See Mokuy in Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi until next Sunday 18 Jan.

📸 Photos by Saul Steed

The miṉḏirr (conical baskets) of Milingimbi embody the region’s distinguished weaving traditions, carried by artists who...
08/01/2026

The miṉḏirr (conical baskets) of Milingimbi embody the region’s distinguished weaving traditions, carried by artists who continue to shape and share this cultural practice.

Yurrwi (Milingimbi) is home to a community of renowned weavers, including Helen Ganalmirriwuy Garrawurra, Ruth Nalmakarra Garrawurra, Margaret Rarru Garrawurra, Susan Balbunga and Mandy Batjula Gaykamungu.

Miṉḏirr are more than functional objects, they embody cultural knowledge - they demonstrate specialised knowledge and skills required to harvest, process and dye the pandanus, including the creation of unique colours such as mol (black).

See these works on display as part of Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi.

📸 1 & 2: Margaret R. Garrawurra, Liyagawumirr-Garrawurra people, Northern Territory, born Galiwin'ku (Elcho Island), Northern Territory c.1940, Miṉḏirr (conical basket), 2020, and Boḏuk miṉḏirr (Gamaḻaŋga conical basket), 2020, Yurrwi (Milingimbi), Northern Territory, ©Margaret Rarru Garrawurra courtesy of Milingimbi Art and Culture.
Photos: Grant Hancock.

📸 3 & 4: Helen G. Garrawurra, Liyagawumirr-Garrawurra people, Northern Territory, born Galiwin'ku (Elcho Island), Northern Territory 1955, Djirriḏiḏi miṉḏirr (Garrawurra conical basket), 2020, and Biḏi'yunawuy miṉḏirr (painted conical basket), 2020, Yurrwi (Milingimbi), Northern Territory, ©Helen Ganalmirriwuy courtesy of Milingimbi Art and Culture.

Join us on Sat 17 Jan for a screening of Tracks of the Unseen - Roads to Cultural Gatherings, followed by a panel discus...
05/01/2026

Join us on Sat 17 Jan for a screening of Tracks of the Unseen - Roads to Cultural Gatherings, followed by a panel discussion with Jay Milera, First Nations elders and project collaborators.

This Narungga-led project is more than a documentary – it is an evocative pilgrimage, a poetic unfolding into the hidden pathways of Australia’s rich Aboriginal footprint, illuminating a legacy nearly erased by colonial shadows.

The film breathes life into faded tracks, retracing the ancient connections between neighbouring nation groups and the re-emerging presence of the Nantawarra, a once-lost fifth nation now being remembered through the stories of our Elders.

Tracks of the Unseen is an unyielding reminder that Narungga culture is not lost, merely awaiting recognition, respect and revival. The first part of this evolving documentary screens as part of the closing weekend celebrations of Tarnanthi 2025.

📍 Radford Auditorium
🎥 Screening and panel from 2pm. Free, all ages.

📸 still: Jay Milera, Narungga/Kaurna people, South Australia, born Maitland, South Australia, Tracks of the Unseen, 2024, video with sound, Port Victoria, South Australia, © Jay Milera, courtesy of the OSCA Projects; photo: Max Mackinnon.

Motorbike Paddy Ngal’s panoramic depictions of mustering and droving use a striking monochrome palette of reddish pink o...
03/01/2026

Motorbike Paddy Ngal’s panoramic depictions of mustering and droving use a striking monochrome palette of reddish pink on white to map the movement of stockmen, cattle and land. Figures and place blur together as red and white paint mix into shadowy traces, suggesting dust, speed and the churn of bodies in motion.

The paintings resist a single viewpoint, tilting and spinning the viewer into the scene rather than holding them at a distance. Part stillness, part stampede, Ngal’s works are immersive and relational, placing us inside the action rather than surveying it from above.

There's just two weeks left of Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi. Plan your visit today.

📸 1: Photo by Saige Prime. 2-4: Motorbike P. Ngal, Anmatyerr people, Northern Territory, Cattle to Mt Isa – Muster, Cattle to Mt Isa – Handover, Cattle to Mt Isa – Amaroo Station, 2022, Urapuntja, Northern Territory; Prudence Lee Bequest Fund 2024, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Motorbike Paddy Ngal / Copyright Agency 2025.

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