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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-10-14 Daily Xml
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Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:00): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Can the minister tell the house about the recent launch of the Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in Adelaide?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:00): I thank the honourable member for that question. As Chair of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, he has, I know, a very great interest in these matters. Tarnanthi is the inaugural Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art showcasing and celebrating Indigenous culture not just in South Australia but from right around Australia.

Tarnanthi is the Kaurna word for 'come forth' or 'appear', like the sun and the first emergence of light or a seed sprouting, and it's an appropriate name for this inaugural festival. I think it's worth putting on record our thanks to the principal sponsor, BHP Billiton, for their incredible support that's made this extraordinary exhibition possible.

Tarnanthi is an exhibition on a scale we have never seen here before in South Australia. The festival features many new works of art from right across Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists communities. There are about 400 artists who have made a contribution to this exhibition, which is being showcased across 22 different venues right across South Australia. Of course, the Art Gallery of South Australia plays host to one of the major exhibitions.

Tarnanthi is the largest and perhaps most significant exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in South Australia's history and quite possibly in Australia's history. I have been calling it the biggest and most significant in Australia and no-one has called me a liar, so I will continue to do that.

I was privileged last week to join Premier Jay Weatherill and former Australian prime minister Paul Keating at the official launch. On the steps of the Art Gallery, Stevie Goldsmith led the Welcome to Country in front of a huge crowd of several thousand and brought up former prime minister Keating and Premier Weatherill as part of the welcome. It was incredibly moving and powerful to witness.

Former prime minister Keating delivered an opening address worthy of such a showcase and reminded everyone in attendance of the power of art, culture and expression for Aboriginal people. He also reminded us that we must continue to work together to address issues of inequality for Aboriginal people. Following the speeches, many from the crowd visited inside the gallery to see for themselves that part of the spectacular exhibition and the hundreds of artworks from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from right across the country.

To name just a few, we had artworks from artists from Arnhem Land, the Kimberley, the Pilbara, Alice Springs and surrounds, North Queensland and of course our own celebrated South Australian artists from around the state, particularly those from some of the art centres on the APY lands where of course there is the oldest continuing art centre anywhere in Australia in Ernabella Arts. Nick Mitzevich, Director of the South Australian Art Gallery, and curator Nici Cumpston have worked tirelessly to bring these artists together and showcase their incredible work. I would echo comments that this festival celebrates the roles that artists play in shaping our world.

I would also like to make special mention of one South Australian artist, Ms Yvonne Koomatrie. I had the pleasure and honour of launching one of the highlights of the festival by this phenomenal South Australian artist and proud Ngarrindjeri woman—her exhibition as part of Tarnanthi. Yvonne's exhibition was the first major retrospective of a weaver in Australia, something that Yvonne does and should feel incredibly proud of and something that is a great privilege to see. I would encourage all members to have a look upstairs in the Art Gallery at this exhibition of woven works of baskets, eel traps and a whole lot of other works.

Yvonne is a senior Ngarrindjeri woman who has been a trailblazer in art over several decades. This is the largest selection of Yvonne's work ever presented in a single exhibition. Yvonne's work is a poignant reflection of the Ngarrindjeri culture. It's a tribute to the strength of Ngarrindjeri people and their important history in South Australia as keepers and custodians of the Murray and Coorong. The material used in these works—native reeds and Yvonne's dedication to its use in her art—signifies the health of the river and the connection of the river's health to Aboriginal culture and identity in caring for country.

Yvonne's is a genuine story of the Riverland's history, growing up with her parents largely earning their living as itinerant workers, a type of work that has been so important for this part of the state and its economy. As I mentioned, it is the largest retrospective of such work, but it is also unusual to have a major retrospective of a solo weaver, Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal. It is a testament to Yvonne's work and of her achievement of taking Ngarrindjeri weaving into the realm of contemporary art.

The works in this exhibition range from traditional functional Ngarrindjeri objects, such as eel traps and egg scoops, to contemporary innovations in forms such as biplanes and balloons. I know, from speaking to people in the room, that works in this collection have come from both public galleries and private collections from right up in Queensland, Darwin and other places right around Australia.

I commend the Art Gallery of South Australia and others involved for the significant collaborative effort that has brought together that particular exhibition. Not only was it a great exhibition but there is also a very interesting book that chronicles the exhibition that is available from the Art Gallery's gift shop. Once again, I commend the curators for this particular exhibition, Hetti Perkins, Jonathan Jones and, of course, Nici Cumpston, on the work that they have done.

As part of Tarnanthi I have also attended a number of other events, such as, on Thursday last week, an informal lunch with many of the artists who have travelled here to be with their works in the Art Gallery courtyard. I also appreciated spending that time to talk with more artists, as well as on Friday afternoon attending the art fair that was held on Friday and Saturday at Tandanya.

Also on Friday night I was privileged to attend the Kulata Tjuta at Government House, on the lawns in front of Government House, where hundreds of spears were arranged in a circle and some of the most senior Pitjantjatjara men—and a number that I have had a fair bit to do with over the last six months, like Gordon Ingkatji, Willy Burton and Hector Burton—performed an inma: singing and dancing that is rarely performed outside the APY lands.

This exhibition right across Adelaide runs for a number of weeks, right into early next year. I would encourage everyone to take the time over the next few weeks to get down to the Art Gallery and other places where it is being held to have a look at works from all over Australia. It truly is unique and ground breaking, and I think it is something South Australia should be very, very proud of.

The PRESIDENT: Supplementary, the Hon. Ms Franks.

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