Tarnanthi on Tour: Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears), is a travelling exhibition from the Art Gallery of South Australia. Bound for France, this exhibition showcases paintings and photographs alongside a stunning installation of spears and tools in wood and cast bronze.

With the involvement of thirty-four artists from the  Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia, the exhibition presents a rare opportunity for European audiences to experience the creative scope, adaptive genius and artistic dynamism of Anangu culture today.

The exhibition will occupy an entire floor of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes, the capital of Brittany in north-west France. Its season in Brittany will coincide with Tarnanthi 2020 in Adelaide. The exhibition will also be supported by a trilingual publication in Pitjantjatjara, English and French.

Tarnanthi, (pronounced tar-nan-dee) comes from the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains. Tarnanthi is a platform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across Australia to share important stories. It encourages new beginnings by providing artists with opportunities to create significant new work and to extend their practice.  The exhibition is the result of a long running project of cultural maintenance in which senior Anangu artists and leaders shared cultural knowledge and skills with younger generations of artists.

The exhibition is presented with support from the Government of South Australia, APY Art Centre Collective, and the Art Gallery of South Australia through Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art with Principal Partner BHP. The exhibition will herald the beginning of a showcase of Australia in France, with Australia now kicking off in France, June 2021 – bringing together the best in business, sport, research, technology, education and the arts.

Image courtesy Art Gallery of South Australia; Artist, Barbara Mbitjana Moore