Barkly Regional Arts: Tennant Creek, Barkly Region, NT
Ada Beasley, My Country, Barkly Regional Arts
The Barkly region covers 322,717 square kilometres of the Northern Territory, from the Roper Gulf in the north to the Queensland border in the east and the Central Desert in the south. Tennant Creek sits roughly in the middle: 1,000 kilometres south of Darwin, 500 kilometres north of Alice Springs, on Waramungu country. Barkly Regional Arts was founded here in 1996 to serve the region's 16 language groups: Waramungu, Warlpiri, Alyawarr, Kaytetye, Warlmanpa, Wakaya, Mudburra, Wambaya, Jingili, Kudanji, Ngarnga, Bingbinga, Garrawa, Yanyuwa, Waanyi, and Mara. Around 70% of the Barkly population is Indigenous.
From its visual arts and music studios in Tennant Creek, the centre does outreach across five remote communities. The Artists of the Barkly Collective represents over 50 Aboriginal artists living in Mungkarta (McLaren Creek), Kulumindini (Elliott), Owairtilla (Canteen Creek), Wutunugurra (Epenarra), and Tennant Creek, across seven language groups: Alyawarr, Kaytetye, Mudburra, Jingili, Waramungu, Warlpiri, and Warlmanpa. The Artists of the Barkly Studio Gallery is located at the Kargaru Centre in Tennant Creek. Each community has its own studio staffed by a local arts worker. Barkly Regional Arts also operates a recording studio, music programme, and the Desert Harmony Festival, held annually in Tennant Creek each July/August.
Barkly Regional Arts at a glance
- Location: Kargaru Centre, Tennant Creek NT. Waramungu country. 1,000km south of Darwin.
- Founded: 1996. Registered charity. Multidisciplinary: visual arts, music, events.
- Region: 322,717 sq km across 16 language groups of the Barkly.
- Artists of the Barkly Collective: 50+ artists across five communities: Mungkarta, Kulumindini, Owairtilla, Wutunugurra, Tennant Creek.
- Notable artists: Ada Beasley, Topsy Steppa-Beasley, Agnes Pula Rubuntja.
- Festival: Desert Harmony Festival, held annually in Tennant Creek each July/August.
