SILENT COUNTRY: Opening + Panel Talk + Electric Fields Performance

NATURE FESTIVAL, ALINYTJARA WILURARA LANDSCAPE BOARD, COUNTRY NEEDS PEOPLE, ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE, GREEN ADELAIDE, INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL & TANDANYA PRESENT

On Friday 25 September, join us for a profound evening of art, music, and dialogue.

Exhibition Space Open from 4.30pm

Exhibition Opening from 5.30pm
// Welcome to Country and Formalities at 6pm //

Panel Talk 6.30pm

Electric Fields Music Performance 7.30pm

Panel Talk

Join MC Taigen Ryan and speakers Zibeon Fielding, Yankunytjatjara community leader and buffel grass advocate from Mimili in the APY Lands; buffel grass researcher Camille Dobson; and Tandanya CEO Brenz Saunders for a timely conversation bringing together voices from culture, science, land management and community. Together, they will explore the ecological and cultural impacts of buffel grass, the urgent action required, and how collaborative approaches can help protect Country.

Electric Fields Live Set

Experience a special live set from Electric Fields, the multi-award-winning electronic-soul duo celebrated for bringing living First Nations culture, language and storytelling to stages across Australia and internationally—including representing Australia at Eurovision in 2024. Featuring the soaring vocals of Zaachariaha Fielding and the music of producer Michael Ross, their performance brings a deeply personal dimension to Silent Country: Zaachariaha grew up in Mimili in the APY Lands, where buffel grass is transforming the Country, culture and community at the heart of this event.

Exhibition

Experience Silent Country through a group exhibition of works exploring buffel grass, environmental change and our evolving relationship with landscape. Through visual art, sound, moving image, textiles, sculpture and interdisciplinary practice, selected artists invite curiosity, reflection and deeper conversation, accompanied by speeches offering further insight into the ecological and cultural realities the exhibition brings into view.

Presentation partner Tandanya has curated an incredibly powerful group of First Nations artists whose works bring personal, cultural and place-based perspectives to the Silent Country exhibition. A number of contributing artists were also undertook a printmaking workshop with artist Damien Warman at Stone and Quoin Studio, developing new work in response to buffel grass and its impacts on Country.

Badimia/Yamatji artist Anna Dowling works across ink, painting and mixed media, using dense, accumulative patterns to explore Country, cultural continuity and the ongoing effects of colonisation. Alongside an existing work that considers systems of disruption and displacement, Anna will present new work developed through the Stone and Quoin workshop.

Brooke Rigney is a proud Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna musician, multidisciplinary artist and advocate whose culturally informed practice brings together story, lived experience, healing and cultural survival, grounded in enduring connections to Country and waters.

Port Augusta based artist Sandra Taylor, a Yankunytjatjara, Pitjantjatjara, Kokatha and Arrernte woman, draws on an artistic journey that began in Coober Pedy. Her contribution is informed by her firsthand experience of buffel grass across the APY Lands and the lasting discomfort of witnessing its impact on Country.

Coober Pedy artist Evanna Williams grew up on the APY Lands and has family and cultural connections extending through the Northern Territory. Her work honours the beauty, stories and cultural significance held within Country, keeping those relationships alive through painting and new work developed during the printmaking workshop.

Colleen Raven (Strangways) is a proud Arabana and Mudbura Warlpiri woman and photographer committed to sharing stories through an Aboriginal lens. Her practice celebrates culture while passing photographic skills and knowledge to the next generation of emerging artists.

Image Credit: Artwork by Sandra Taylor and Anna Dowling's Snake Skin

Artists Damien Coulthard and Damien Warman will also exhibit work developed through an extended period of research and exchange with scientists, cultural knowledge holders and activists working in the buffel grass space. Their contributions bring artistic practice into conversation with lived experience, ecological research and on-ground advocacy, exploring how new work can deepen public understanding of buffel grass and its complex impacts on Country, culture and community.

This exhibition features visual artists from Tutti Arts who will present new works developed through research and exchange with scientists and field researchers, exploring Buffel grass's dire impact on Country, culture and biodiversity. Created in response to the themes of Silent Country, these works bring the artists’ distinctive perspectives to urgent questions of ecological change, care and the future of Country. Tutti artists participating in this research project and exhibition include: Lucia Birch, Banjobe Hunt, Charlie Taplin, Jacko Hooper, Megan Long, Nathan Dolphin and Nathan Smith.  

Image Credit: Tutti Artist Jacko Hooper

Image Credit: Tutti Artist Jackie Saunders painting new work for Silent Country Exhibition

Want more?

Experience Silent Country through your senses with an intimate dinner experience at Tandanya that takes you deeper into the cultural and ecological impacts of buffel grass. Curated by Warndu with acclaimed chefs Matt Stone and Shannon Fleming, this remarkable menu celebrates native plants and food species under threat, inviting guests to taste the abundance of healthy Country—and understand what stands to be lost. Sunday 27th September.

For more information and tickets:
https://www.naturefestival.org.au/event/silent-country-dinner

TANDANYA ACCESSIBILITY GUIDE:

Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute is located at 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000, on Kaurna Country.

Tandanya is a safe and welcoming space for everyone to visit, learn and be inspired. Through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, culture, stories and creative expression, we aim to educate visitors and celebrate the world’s oldest continuing living cultures.

We want every visitor to feel safe, comfortable and welcome. If you have specific access requirements or need assistance, please contact our team before arriving.

Arriving at Tandanya

The main entrance is located on the corner of Grenfell Street and East Terrace. Entry through the front doors is wheelchair accessible.

Parking and drop-off

Tandanya does not have on-site or visitor parking. A safe drop-off point is available on the eastern side of the building for access vehicles.

Paid street parking may be available on Grenfell, Frome and Pirie streets and East Terrace. Check signs carefully, as limits and fees apply. Nearby off-street parking includes UPark Frome Street.

View the City of Adelaide parking map Eastern-side access vehicle drop-off

Travelling by bus

Stop R1 on the southern side of Grenfell Street, near 225– 233 Grenfell Street, is a short distance from Tandanya.

Routes include 117, 118, 141, 142, 144, 150, 155, 157 and several H20 services.

Travelling by train

All metropolitan train services travel to Adelaide Railway

Station on North Terrace. From there, continue by bus, taxi or rideshare, or walk approximately 20 minutes through the city.

View Adelaide Metro access information 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000 • Kaurna Country TANDANYA | VISITOR ACCESS GUIDE

Access inside Tandanya

Clear access from the street, through the Main Hall and into our public spaces.

Accessible approach Lift in the Main Hall Accessible ground-floor toilet

Getting around Tandanya

The ground floor, Main Hall and exhibition spaces are accessible through the front entrance. A lift in the Main Hall provides access to upstairs areas. Please ask a Tandanya staff member if you need help locating or using the lift.

Accessible toilets

An accessible toilet is available on the ground floor adjacent to the exhibition room.

Assistance animals

Assistance animals are warmly welcomed at Tandanya.

Please let our team know if you or your assistance animal needs any additional support during your visit.

Public transport accessibility

Adelaide Metro buses and trains provide accessibility features, including boarding ramps. Check current access information and service updates before travelling.

Additional support

Please contact Tandanya before your visit if you would like to discuss:

✓ Wheelchair or mobility access ✓ Seating requirements

✓ Assistance entering or moving through the building ✓ Sensory or communication requirements

✓ Access for an assistance animal ✓ Any other support that would make your visit safe and

comfortable

Your feedback is welcome. Please speak with a Tandanya staff member if there is anything we can do to improve your

experience.

253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000 • Kaurna Country