|
|
|
|
|
|
Tangentyere Council is the major service delivery agency for the 18 Housing Associations known as ‘Town Camps’ in Alice Springs. The Council was first incorporated in 1979 and is an Aboriginal owned and controlled organisation. Tangentyere Council’s Mission Statement is to provide sustainable services and programs which are culturally sensitive, innovative, effective and efficient, that meets the needs and aspirations of the Alice Springs Town Camp communities. In April 2005 Tangentyere Council established an Aboriginal enterprise, Tangentyere Artists. The Art Centre is situated in Alice Springs at Tangentyeres’ headquarters. It specializes in the production, distribution and marketing of paintings by over 370 artists from all of the Alice Springs Town Camps. The artists’ stylistic diversity reflects the wide range of cultural groups that are represented, which includes 20 different central Australian languages. Tangentyere Artists aims to provide an environment that supports and encourages cultural maintenance, and the transmission of cultural knowledge as well as generating social and economic benefits to Town Camp residents. In the 3 years Tangentyere Artists has been operating, the centre has developed rapidly within the Indigenous Arts Industry and broader public interest. Given the Commonwealth’s Intervention into Aboriginal community affairs in Central Australia, this art exhibition “The Story of the Alice Springs Town Camps” is an opportunity to emphasize positive, self-empowering initiatives that build cultural and spiritual sustainability for the Indigenous people of Alice Springs.
Liesl Rockchild |
