tarntanya (adelaide)

october 2023

Ku Arts provided independent artists with vital access to a commercial market usually reserved for Art Centres. Tarnanthi Art Fair, held from 20-22 October 2023 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, is the largest art market for First Nations artists in South Australia. With representation of 50+ Art Centres across Australia, this was an incredibly successful event in providing sales opportunities and a breadth of professional development opportunities.

The Ku Arts booth represented more than 50 artists from across the state. Alongside this representation were a number of key professional and business development opportunities, including wrap-around support for packaging and wrapping works for postage, pricing and cataloguing, and writing artist biographies and statements to designing packaging and creating engaging displays that would elevate each artist’s works.

A number of artists also gained valuable industry experience by helping with sales at the Ku Arts stall. Learning to use up-to-date sales technology and engage with customers face-to-face provided valuable skills for artists to take back to their remote locations. Visitors to the Ku Arts stall were delighted to hear about artworks directly from the artists who produced them.

‘The art fair was a great experience learning about sales and pricing, being able to connect with buyers.’

— Sam Lester, Ngapala Arts

Ku Arts supported nine artists to travel to the Art Fair from Galinyala Barngala (Port Lincoln) and Adnyamathanha Yarta (Copley) as professional development. Coming from remote regions of the state, the opportunity for these artists to travel to the Art Fair provided valuable industry experience. While they were in Tarntanya (Adelaide), these artists also visited and engaged with satellite Tarnanthi exhibitions and toured relevant arts industry organisations, including JamFactory.