Tarnanthi 2025 Media Portal

Tarnanthi, the Art Gallery of South Australia’s acclaimed festival of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, will mark its tenth anniversary in 2025 with the major exhibition Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi at AGSA, alongside thirty exhibitions and events at 25 partner venues across South Australia, and an in-person Tarnanthi Art Fair at Union House, Adelaide University.

The word tarnanthi (pronounced TAR-nan-dee) comes from the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains. It means to spring forth or appear – like the sun and the first emergence of light. Since it began in 2015, Tarnanthi has established itself as Australia’s leading First Nations arts festival, with more than 2.2 million people visiting Tarnanthi exhibitions and events that have showcased the radical ingenuity and expansive practice of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and creatives. Over the last ten years, Tarnanthi has provided a platform for almost 9,500 First Nations artists to present their works of art, building understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture for audiences in Australia and around the world.

Key Dates

2025 Tarnanthi Festival Season | 17 October 2025 – 18 January 2026

Tarnanthi Art Fair 2025 | Union House, Adelaide University | 17 - 18 October 2025

Media Preview | AGSA | 16 October, 11am

Media Preview | Tarnanthi Art Fair 2025 | 17 October, 2pm

Official Launch | AGSA | 16 October, 6pm | 3% to open 2025 Tarnanthi Festival in a free event on AGSA's North Terrace Forecourt

Social Media

@agsa.adelaide @tarnanthi #tarnanthi #tarnanthiartfair

Media Contacts

Lindsay Ferris, Head of Communications, Art Gallery of South Australia
Ferris.Lindsay@artgallery.sa.gov.au | +61 8 7085 1617 | +61 405 046 116

Elisabeth Alexander, Senior Communications Coordinator, Art Gallery of South Australia
Alexander.Elisabeth@artgallery.sa.gov.au | +61 8 7085 1618 | +61 404 934 779

Tarnanthi 2015 - 2025 at a glance

• 2.2 million people have attended Tarnanthi exhibitions and events
• 9,477 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists have participated in Tarnanthi through exhibitions and events at AGSA and partner venues and through the Tarnanthi Art Fair
• More than $8.5 million of art has been sold at the Tarnanthi Art Fair, with all money going directly to artists and communities
• $126.5 million in economic expenditure has been generated in South Australia since 2015.