Saltbush Country premieres in Port Pirie ahead of Adelaide season

Presented by Country Arts SA in partnership with Tarnanthi

Country Arts SA’s Saltbush Country profiles contemporary regional South Australian Aboriginal artists in the first regionally curated visual arts exhibition in partnership with Tarnanthi.

Audiences in Port Pirie will be the first to have the rare opportunity to experience the works and worldviews of Aboriginal artists working independently across regional South Australia. Their works, curated by Tarnanthi Regional Curator Marika Davies, are the result of a series of community workshops, mentoring and professional development opportunities catering for prominent regional artists and supported by Country Arts SA and Tarnanthi, the Art Gallery of South Australia’s award-winning program of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

The statewide annual Tarnanthi Festival returns in 2023, with the Saltbush Country exhibition opening at the Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery on September 23 ahead of the opening of the Tarnanthi Festival at Art Gallery of South Australia in October. Saltbush Country is presented as a partnership between Country Arts SA and the Art Gallery of South Australia as part of Tarnanthi.

Acclaimed across Australia, the Tarnanthi Festival showcases the latest contemporary works by hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the continent.

Tarnanthi Regional Curator Marika Davies said Saltbush Country plays an important role in strengthening ties between generations. “This exhibition holds an important place in culture; it preserves the past and in doing so creates a strong path for the future. It shows that when the conditions are right, the artists can bloom.”

The artists include: Josephine Lennon (Mirning and Antikirinjara peoples, South Australia), Juanella McKenzie (Adnyamathanha, Luritja and Lower Southern Arrernte peoples, South Australia/Northern Territory), Marli Macumba (Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara peoples, South Australia), Deanna Newchurch (Narungga people, South Australia), Lynette Newchurch (Narungga people, South Australia), Sandra Saunders (Ngarrindjeri and Buandig peoples, South Australia), Heather Shearer (Arrernte people, Northern Territory/South Australia)

Tarnanthi Artistic Director, Barkandji curator, Nici Cumpston OAM said, “We are thrilled to be supporting Marika Davies and regional artists through the development of Saltbush Country. The artists have been given the opportunity to work alongside Marika to identify how they can develop their practice to create new work for the exhibition. Some have chosen mentorships with other artists, while others have undertaken independent research. The resultant works are ambitious and show exciting new directions for all the artists involved.”

Many of the artists are connected through culture and storylines that crisscross the regions, but each group is different. In this exhibition, these diverse artists tell stories of their people, community and connection to Country. Often personal and occasionally raw, their work reflects the world as seen through their eyes while expressing their culture, language and community – a contemporary articulation of Aboriginal life in regional south Australia.

Visitors to the exhibition can expect to see works of art utilising weaving, painting, textiles and fibre work, sculpture, large-scale installation and jewellery.

23 Sept – 5 Nov
Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery
3 Mary Elie St, Port Pirie SA 5540
Mon – Fri 9am–5pm, Sat – Sun & public holidays 10am–2pm

16 Nov – 22 Mar
Hawke Centre’s Kerry Packer Civic Gallery
Hawke Building level 3, UniSA City West Campus
55 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
Mon – Fri 9am–6pm. Closed 22 Dec – 1 Jan

Saltbush Country is presented as a partnership between Country Arts SA and the Art Gallery of South Australia as part of Tarnanthi. This exhibition is supported by Tarnanthi Principal Partner BHP.