I first visited Tandanya when I was studying Indigenous art and design at uni. The reason I'm so interested in art isn't all that pretentious really - I just think it's a fun way to learn about other people. For me, visiting Tandanya is a great example of that. As an outsider to Indigenous culture, I don't immediately understand a lot of art made by Indigenous people. And even after I've done my research, there will always be subtexts and underlying complexities that I won't understand. I'm ok with not always 'getting it' though.
The exhibitions here are as wide and varied as Indigenous culture and experience - there is no one way to sum it all up. The programming is varied - featuring local artists, artists from urban areas and rural areas all around Australia, young artists and old artists, well-known artists and little-known artists, artists using traditional techniques and artists using more experimental approaches. The galleries themselves are large and well-resourced - big beautiful rooms with wooden floors.
As well as the gallery spaces, Tandanya is a general place for meeting and learning. They offer educational tours, for adult groups and student groups, a retail store that sells artworks, a professional performance space and they host community events.
If you want to keep up to date on the exhibition program here, subscribe to their mailing list on the right hand side of this page: http://www.tandanya.com.au/news-0/page-1/ read more