Adelaide Meets the Bush Exhibition

26 February 2018

The Alinytjara Wiluṟara Natural Resource Management (AW NRM) Board, in collaboration with the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges (AMLR) NRM Board is proud to present a major exhibition, Adelaide meets the Bush, which will be showing at Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute throughout March.

Through a unique collection of video, Aboriginal artworks and photography, this is an exceptional opportunity for the people of Adelaide (and others) to get their ‘feet in the sand’ and experience a land where the relationship between people and country has never, and will never, be broken.

The Alinytjara Wiluṟara (Pitjantjatjara meaning north and west) NRM Board proudly supports the Traditional Owners of the state’s north western deserts in caring for the people, county and water of the region. The Alinytjara Wiluṟara NRM Board is the only NRM Board (of 56) in Australia, with all Aboriginal membership and with the land under its management being entirely owned or controlled by its Traditional Aboriginal owners.

Building ways to move forward through close consultation with Traditional Owners, the Board acts as a conduit that connects government bodies and other organisations with what really matters on country and oversees projects that support economic development and environmental health. It also focusses on improving education outcomes, including supporting kids from the region to aspire and attain university qualifications, and enhance the passion and belief of Aboriginal people that the country must be healthy for the people to be healthy.

The exhibition artworks collected from Galleries and artists from across the Western deserts, APY Lands and Far West Coast of South Australia, include paintings, carvings (punu) and basket weaving. These are complimented by photographs and stories that offer an insight into the region and the work there caring for country.

Many challenges limit sharing the stories of Traditional Owners who live in the region’s scattered and remote communities. In recognition of this the AW NRM Board supported a series of on-country interviews to be undertaken over the past 12 months. The resulting videos enable Aboriginal from the region to speak to the people of Adelaide about their work, their lives and what is important to them.

The partnership between AW NRM Board and Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges (AMLR) NRM Board developed through a common passion and belief in the connection between people and country.

The two Boards have developed an agreement or ‘Pukulpa Tjungu’ which strives to nurture the friendship between the Boards, and in doing so help Aboriginal people from the Region to feel that they have good friends in Adelaide.

We hope that this exhibition will create new friends and partners to assist the Board in its work, and go some way to remove barriers preventing people from visiting and sharing this remarkable country.