Saltbush Country tour brings artists to Broken Hill

Saltbush Country, a touring visual arts exhibition featuring South Australian Aboriginal women artists, arrives at Broken Hill City Art Gallery this month, presenting new works that connect culture, community and Country.

Presented by Country Arts SA as part of the Tarnanthi Festival — the Art Gallery of South Australia’s award-winning program of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art — Saltbush Country profiles contemporary regional artists through an innovative collection of new works.

Broken Hill audiences can expect weaving, painting, textiles and fibre work, large-scale installation and jewellery. The exhibition foregrounds personal and, at times, raw expressions of contemporary Aboriginal life in regional South Australia.

Artist Marli Macumba. (Saltbush Country)

Key Points

“Saltbush Country is a powerful example of arts organisations such as Country Arts SA and Tarnanthi collaborating in order to showcase the phenomenal talent of our regional First Nations artists. I’m delighted that people across regional South Australia will have the chance to see these fantastic works for themselves, ” South Australia Arts Minister Andrea Michaels said.

Curated by Tarnanthi Regional curator Marika Davies, the exhibition has grown from a series of community workshops, mentoring, and professional development opportunities for prominent regional artists, supported by Country Arts SA and Tarnanthi.Curated by Tarnanthi Regional curator Marika Davies, the exhibition grew from a series of community workshops, mentoring, and professional development opportunities for prominent regional artists, supported by Country Arts SA and Tarnanthi.

Artist Deanna Newchurch. (Saltbush Country)

Across weaving, painting, textiles, fibre work, installation and jewellery, their practices articulate stories of culture, community and deep ties to Country. The exhibition’s focus on new work highlights emerging directions among artists practising independently across regional South Australia.

Saltbush Country is described as a statewide touring exhibition that offers audiences across regional South Australia a rare opportunity to experience the works and worldviews of Aboriginal women artists practising independently. The initiative centres on personal storytelling and contemporary expressions of Aboriginal life as seen through the artists’ eyes.

Artists and works

Saltbush Country brings together seven regional artists whose practices reflect distinct cultural lineages and lived experiences. The artists are:

• Josephine Lennon (Mirning/Antikirinjara)
• Juanella Donovan (Adnyamathanha/Luritja/Lower Southern Arrernte)
• Marli Macumba (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara)
• Deanna Newchurch (Narungga)
• Lynette Newchurch, (Narungga)
• Sandra Saunders (Ngarrindjeri/Buandig)
• Heather Shearer (Arrernte)

The exhibition runs from Friday May 8 to Sunday July 26.