arts

Tarnanthi Festival celebrates a deadly decade with national touring exhibition

Phoebe Blogg Published May 13, 2026 at 4.45pm (AWST)

Behind the scenes at Tarnanthi 2015 launch. Image: Ben Searcy.

The Art Gallery of South Australia's renowned Tarnanthi program will embark on a nationwide tour from 2026-28, stretching from Boorloo to Rockhampton, through a showcase of ground-breaking works by contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

The touring exhibition, Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly, features more than thirty works from previous Tarnanthi Festivals, many never seen outside of Adelaide, including monumental paintings, installations and moving image works.

Following the major exhibition Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi, presented at AGSA in 2025 to mark the tenth anniversary of Tarnanthi, this touring exhibition will include significant works featured in Tarnanthi Festivals from the past decade that reflect the creative diversity, innovation and cultural depth of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

Too Deadly features landmark works of art by celebrated First Nations artists, from satirical chronicles of Australian identity to works from the perspective of Aboriginal stockmen and women during the pastoral frontier, to large-scale collaborative paintings that express enduring connections to Country.

Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly will travel to six venues across four states, bringing the impact of Tarnanthi to audiences nationwide.

The tour launches on July 25 at Rockhampton Museum of Art (QLD) before heading to Maitland Regional Art Gallery (NSW), Ngununggula (NSW), Caboolture Art Gallery (QLD), Geelong Gallery (VIC), and the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery (WA).

"For more than a decade, Adelaide and Tarnanthi have been a nexus for First Nations artists from across Australia," said AGSA director Jason Smith.

"Now, AGSA will celebrate ten years of Tarnanthi by taking their stories on the road, connecting audiences around Australia with Tarnanthi's nation-leading approach as a platform for conversations, deep listening and important cultural sharing."

Kyam Maher, South Australia's Minister for Arts, said Tarnanthi Festival has progressively grown to become a mainstay of the state's cultural calendar.

"Over the last ten years, the Tarnanthi Festival has become a mainstay of South Australia's cultural calendar and an important celebration of First Nations creativity, community and cultural continuity.

"Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly offers a unique chance for audiences outside of South Australia to experience Tarnanthi and engage with the scale, detail and deep histories of significant works drawn from the Festival's first decade."

Too Deadly features major installations and works of art by Tony Albert, Byron Brooks, Kunmanara Carroll, Sammy Dodd, Janet Fieldhouse, Nyaparu (William) Gardiner, Kunmanara (Fred) Grant, Manini Gumana, Simon Hogan, Wendy Hubert, Karen Mills, Sally M Nangala Mulda, Kunmanara (Peter) Mungkuri, Vincent Namatjira, Kumanjayi Paddy, Mavis Ngallametta, Alair Pambegan, Kunmanara (Lawrence) Pennington, Kunmanara Presley, Reko Rennie, Ian Rictor, Marlene Rubuntja, John Prince Siddon, Pauline Nangala Sunfly, Cornelia Tipuamantumirri, Kunmanara (Roy) Underwood, Lennard Walker, Garawan Waṉambi, Judy Watson, Bugai Whyoulter, and Mumu Mike Williams.

Since 2015, Tarnanthi has established itself as a nation-leader in presenting the nuanced complexity and ingenuity of contemporary First Nations art.

More than 2.2 million people have visited Tarnanthi exhibitions and events and more than 10,000 First Nations artists have presented their works of art, building understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture for audiences in Australia and around the world.

The word tarnanthi (pronounced TAR-nan-dee) comes from the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains. It means to spring forth or appear, like the sun and the first emergence of light.