Painting by Tuppy Goodwin © The Artist – Courtesy Apy Art Collective
Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) is a major touring exhibition in Europe of new works by artists from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in South Australia.
The exhibition showcases important paintings and photographs along with an installation of spears and tools in wood and cast bronze. With the involvement of thirty-four artists from APY art centres, the exhibition presents a rare opportunity for European audiences to experience the creative scope, adaptive genius and artistic dynamism of Anangu culture today.
A celebration of contemporary Anangu art, the exhibition’s title references the long-running Kulata Tjuta Project of cultural maintenance in which senior Anangu artists and leaders share cultural knowledge and skills with younger generations.
The exhibition – with the involvement of thirty-four artists from APY art centres – was originally created specifically for the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes, the capital of the French region of Brittany, with its season coinciding with Tarnanthi 2020 in Adelaide. Kuḻaṯa Tjuṯa later formed part of a broader series of exhibitions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Musées d’Art et d’Histoire in Le Havre, Normandy, France. The latest iteration of Kuḻaṯa Tjuṯa presents a selection of major works from the original exhibition, involving fourteen artists, for new audiences at the Australian Embassy in Berlin, Germany.
Accompanying Kuḻaṯa Tjuṯa is a trilingual publication in Pitjantjatjara, English and French, produced by AGSA.
Venues and Dates:
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes, Brittany, France
16 Oct 2020 – 3 Jan 2021
Musées d’Art et d’Histoire, Le Havre, Normandy, France
5 Jun 2021 – 7 Nov 2021
Australian Embassy, Berlin, Germany
8 June 2022 – 28 October 2022
Artists:
Alec Baker, Maringka Baker, Leah Brady, Maringka Burton, Nyunmiti Burton, Nyurpaya Kaika Burton, Wawiriya Burton, Betty Chimney, Taylor Cooper, Nellie Coulthard, Emily Cullinan, Vicki Cullinan, Sammy Dodd, Stanley Douglas, Robert Fielding, Witjiti George, Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, Naomi Kantjuriny, Sylvia Ken, Tjungkara Ken, Manyitjanu Lennon, Judy Martin, Barbara Mbitjana Moore, Molly Miller, Samuel Miller, Mona Mitakiki Shepherd, Betty Muffler, Peter Mungkuri, Tjimpayi Presley, Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, Margaret Richards, Keith Stevens, Ginger Wikilyiri, Mick Wikilyiri.
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.
Poster of Kulata Tjuta exhibition at Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes
SOURCES: Art Gallery of South Australia, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes.