Saltbush Country

NOVEMBER 2023 -
february 2024

Like the saltbush that grows in arid country, independent First Nations artists have to be hardy and resilient to work in regional South Australia. And like the saltbush, they can thrive when conditions improve.

This exhibition Saltbush Country provides a rare opportunity to experience the works and worldviews of Aboriginal artists working independently across regional South Australia. Their works, curated by Tarnanthi Regional Curator Marika Davies, are the result of a series of community workshops, mentoring and professional development opportunities catering for prominent regional artists and supported by Tarnanthi, the Art Gallery of South Australia’s award-winning program of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

Many of the artists are connected through culture and storylines that crisscross the regions, but each group is different. In this exhibition, these diverse artists tell stories of their people, community and connection to Country. Often personal and occasionally raw, their work reflects the world as seen through their eyes while expressing their culture, language and community – a contemporary articulation of Aboriginal life in regional south Australia.