The Aboriginal Art Directory covers Vincent Namatjira OAM for the upcoming Tarnanthi Festival

19 Sep 2023

Introducing this year’s Tarnanthi, Australia’s leading Aboriginal art festival, Jeremy Eccles has published an article for The Aboriginal Art Directory detailing the exciting line up of activities accompanying the festival. Among these events are Vincent Namatjira OAM’s upcoming exhibitions.

Tarnanthi represents the dynamism of contemporary Aboriginal and (sometimes) Torres Strait Islander art, and provides a substantial platform generously sponsored by BHP, an Australian multinational mining and metals public company, for artists to convey their significant narratives. Since it started in 2015, The festival has shown the work of more than 6000 First Nations artists, drawing in an audience of over 1.6 million attendees to its exhibitions and events.

Eccles kicks off the article by highlighting Namatjira’s first-ever survey exhibition which opens on 20 October at the Art Gallery South Australia. Titled, Vincent Namatjira: Australia in Colour, this exhibition promises to showcase an array of new paintings by the 40-year-old Archibald Prize-winning portraitist. Additionally, it will feature rarely seen works sourced from both public and private collections across the country. Beyond this survey exhibition, Namatjira is also set to debut his solo exhibition Desert Songs with Yavuz Gallery. The exhibition reveals his debt to his ancestor Albert Namatjira in the way he paints landscapes these days. Desert Songs will be open on 5 October 2023.

Image: Profile of Vincent Namatjira in front of Museum of Contemporary Art foyer wall, photographed by Daniel Boud. Courtesy of the artist and Museum of Contemporary Art.