when: 01 January 2025 - 13 July 2025 | venue: National Gallery of Australia | cost: See event for details | address: Parkes Place East Parkes 2600 | website: https://nga.gov.au | tickets: https://nga.gov.au/exhibitions/kulata-tjuta-tirkilpa///?q=eyJ0eXBlIjoiYm9va2luZyIsImRlc3RpbmF0aW9uIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9uZ2EuZ292LmF1L2V4
published: 28 Apr 2025, 5 min read
Kulata Tjuta is an ongoing cultural maintenance project that shares the skills of carving and making the punu kulata (wooden spear) across generations. It started as a project involving a small group of men in Amata and has grown to include over 100 Aṉangu men across the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.
Kulata Tjuta: Tirkilpa is the largest and most significant installation of the culturally important and visually spectacular Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) Project. Like others in the series, it is rooted in age-old traditions, knowledge and skills that are designed around keeping Country and culture strong.
The Kulata Tjuta project was formally established in 2010 at Tjala Arts in the community of Amata, when Mick Wikilyiri (c 1938 Pitjantjatjara), Frank Young (c 1949 Pitjantjatjara), Barney Wangin (1939-2012 Pitjantjatjara), Tiger Palpatja (c 1920-2012 Pitjantjatjara), Hector Burton (c 1937-2017 Pitjantjatjara) and Ray Ken (c 1940-2018 Pitjantjatjara) formally conceived of the project under the direction of Willy Kaika Burton (c 1941 Pitjantjatjara).
The artistic outcomes take the form of large-scale, multi-disciplinary installations which incorporate film, sound, live performance and other artistic collaborations.
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Kulata Tjuta is an ongoing cultural maintenance project that shares the skills of carving and making the punu kulata (wooden spear) across generations. It started as a project involving a small group of men in Amata and has grown to include over 100 Aṉangu men across the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.
Kulata Tjuta: Tirkilpa is the largest and most significant installation of the culturally important and visually spectacular Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) Project. Like others in the series, it is rooted in age-old traditions, knowledge and skills that are designed around keeping Country and culture strong.
The Kulata Tjuta project was formally established in 2010 at Tjala Arts in the community of Amata, when Mick Wikilyiri (c 1938 Pitjantjatjara), Frank Young (c 1949 Pitjantjatjara), Barney Wangin (1939-2012 Pitjantjatjara), Tiger Palpatja (c 1920-2012 Pitjantjatjara), Hector Burton (c 1937-2017 Pitjantjatjara) and Ray Ken (c 1940-2018 Pitjantjatjara) formally conceived of the project under the direction of Willy Kaika Burton (c 1941 Pitjantjatjara).
The artistic outcomes take the form of large-scale, multi-disciplinary installations which incorporate film, sound, live performance and other artistic collaborations.
Go see Kulata Tjuta: Tirkilpa 2024.
Kulata Tjuta: Tirkilpa 2024 is on 01 January 2025 - 13 July 2025. The opening hours are: See event website for details. Conveniently located in Parkes. Call 02 6240 6411 for details. Visit their website at https://nga.gov.au.
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