John Gordon Gallery is honoured to announce the inaugural interstate exhibition for the Alice Springs based Art Centre – Tangentyere Artists.
The recently established Aboriginal owned and directed organisation is responsible for managing the painting careers of Aboriginal people who
call the Central Australian township of Alice Springs their home. This group exhibition titled ‘The Story Of The Alice Springs Town Camps’ is
an occasion for the audience outside of Central Australia to experience, learn, appreciate and respect the issues in the lives of Aboriginal
people who live in Alice Springs. The exhibition of thirty paintings reflects the cultural diversity of Aboriginal people that for many
different circumstances have relocated from distant communities to live permanently in the 18 Town Camps that surround Alice Springs.
I’d like to sincerely thank the Art Coordinator of Tangentyere Artists, Liesl Rockchild for her dedicated and passionate commitment to the
Aboriginal artists and their families associated with the Tangentyere organisation and for having faith in John Gordon Gallery to conduct,
under her guidance, this socially, politically and artistically important art exhibition. I’d also like to thank Penny Watson – Project
Officer for Tangentyere Artists for the time she has taken to compile the catalogue essay, ‘Art Born Of Daily Struggle’ and for the consistent
hospitality extended to John Gordon Gallery staff when visiting Alice Springs. Penny’s discernment and insights of the issues reflecting all
aspects of Aboriginality in Australia have been a learning experience that I’m most grateful for. The third member of Tangentyere Artists I’d
like to thank is the Assistant Art Coordinator, Hazel Nobel. While pre-selecting paintings for possible inclusion in the curated exhibition
Hazel’s ideas and suggestions were most appreciated and trusted. Her knowledge of the artists personal histories and the subject matter of the
paintings in their many different variations is invaluable.
Nicholas Kachel
