Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute

The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music and storytelling. It is the oldest Aboriginal-owned and -run cultural centre in Australia.

Tandanya
Established1989
Location253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide, South Australia
Coordinates34.9241°S 138.6105°E / -34.9241; 138.6105
Websitehttp://www.tandanya.com.au/

Naming
See also: Tarndanyangga

The institute derives its name from Tarndanya,[1] the Kaurna Aboriginal people's name for the Adelaide city centre and parklands area, meaning "place of the red kangaroo".[2]

History

Tandanya is the oldest Aboriginal-owned and -run cultural centre in Australia,[3] opened in 1989. The first exhibition featured artworks on silk created by women from Utopia in the Northern Territory, entitled Utopia — A Picture Story.[4]

Building

It is housed in the old Grenfell Street Power Station (later a TAFE college[5]) at the eastern end of Grenfell Street in the Adelaide city centre,[4] also the office headquarters of the South Australian Electric Light and Motive Power Company. The original building dates from 1901, but it was extensively modified and rebuilt in 1912–13,[5] including the Palladian-style facade.[6] The building was heritage-listed on the SA Heritage Register in November 1984.[7] There is an "Historic Engineering Plaque" on a ground level plinth just east of the north-east corner of the building, which was dedicated by the Institution of Engineers, Australia, the Electricity Trust of South Australia and the Adelaide City Council on 6 April 1995.[8]

Governance and functions

Its core activities, as listed in the 2015-6 Annual Report, are: visual arts (exhibitions program); performing arts (events, theatre and performances); community arts (public art); cultural performances and information; school education activities; cultural and artistic tours; Indigenous infused café; Gallery Shop retailing Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Artworks. The centre is governed by a 10-member Board of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent and residing in South Australia. A Chief executive officer is responsible for its day-to-day operations.[9]

As of 2021, Dennis Stokes, who is of the Wardaman, Luritja and Warramunga peoples of the Northern Territory as well as the Wagadagam people of the Torres Strait Islands, is CEO. He is also a member of the South Australian Film Corporation's First Nations Advisory Committee, launched in November 2020 as part of their First Nations Screen Strategy 2020-2025.[10]

Funding is through the Australia Council for the Arts.[9]

21st-century activities

The centre runs programs and performances as part of NAIDOC Week.[9]

Since 2015 the centre has hosted the annual Art Fair, part of the Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art each year.[11]

2020

In 2020, with its 30th-anniversary celebrations interrupted by being forced to close for over six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, Tandanya re-opened in October with an exhibition called Atnwengerrp — Our Apmere, Our Place, which included the work of five of the original women whose work was shown in the first ever exhibition at the gallery.[4]

On 13 November 2020, as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations, the centre hosted a new music festival called TREATY, featuring established and emerging First Nations musicians from South Australia. Performers included J-Milla, Sonz of Serpent, Dem Mob, RKM (Rulla Kelly-Mansell), Tilly Tjala Thomas, MRLN (Marlon Motlop) and Katie Aspel, with Natasha Wanganeen sharing the presenting with J-Milla.[12]

Discussions have been taking place with regard to the new Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre (AACC) as part of the Lot Fourteen precinct on North Terrace, with a planned opening in 2025.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Tarndanya", KaurnaPlaceNames.com. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  2. "South Australia - National Aboriginal Cultural Institute - Tandanya". Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  3. "Official Hansard Report - Parliament of South Australia Environment, Resources and Development Committee, 21 February 2001". Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  4. Sutton, Malcolm (2 October 2020). "Tandanya resumes 30th year celebrations with a new focus on contemporary art". ABC news. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  5. Hunter, James. "Grenfell Street Power Station". Adelaidia. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  6. "Adelaide Electric Supply Company Power Station". Adelaidepedia. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  7. "Heritage Places [241-259 Grenfell Street Adelaide". SA Heritage Places Database Search. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  8. "Historic Engineering Marker at the Grenfell Power and East Terrace Converter Stations (Issue 2)" (PDF). Institution of Engineers, Australia. SA Division. Engineering Heritage Branch. 17 July 1996.
  9. "National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Ministerial Annual Report 2015-2016" (PDF). Tandanya. ISSN 2207-0109. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  10. "First Nations Screen Strategy 2020-2025". SAFC. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  11. Mcdonald, John (31 October 2017). "Review: Tarnanthi, Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  12. "Looking forward to NAIDOC Week: things to do". ArtsHub Australia. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  13. Sutton, Malcolm (11 November 2020). "Funding for Adelaide's second Aboriginal art and cultural centre boosted to $200 million". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
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