After almost seven months of forced closure due to the pandemic, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute celebrated reopening its doors and 30th birthday celebrations with the exhibition ‘Atnwengerrp – Our Apmere, Our Place’.
Monkeystack were commissioned to produce an interactive 360 experience of the entire Atnwengerrp (pronounced A-NOONG-a-pa) exhibition space for Tandanya, complete with photography of each artwork that we digitally rehung as part of the immersive gallery.
We augmented the space to give the viewer a sense of intimacy, the dark gallery space emphasised by the illuminated monochromatic artwork, digitally capturing the physical space’s specific lighting design.
Users can browse the gallery at their own pace accompanied by a music experience created by Jimblah, an indigenous Australian hip hop artist from the Larrakia nation, interacting with individual artworks to see the piece in high definition and text information including Artist profiles, specifics on the piece and the option to enquire for purchase.
Providing a solution for those who couldn’t physically attend the exhibition had never been more relevant, Virtual Tandanya delivers the captivating qualities of an immersive gallery experience to people across South Australia, the region of Utopia and the rest of the world.
“Tandanya first opened its doors to the public in 1989 with an exhibition of batik artwork on silk by women from Utopia community in the NT. This year, the Gallery will be celebrating its 30th birthday (a little late, due to COVID-19) with artwork by some of the same women from the same region again gracing the walls. ‘Atnwengerrp – Our Apmere, Our Place’ present works by four generations of artists from the small community of Atnwengerrp, 270kms North-East of Alice Springs within the region of Utopia.
The collection of monochromatic artwork is inspired by Country and showcases the entire community of approximately 100 people. It features work from artists such as 97-year-old Emily Pwerle, who featured in that opening exhibition at Tandanya, and her sisters. The siblings began developing expressions of their Dreamings, passed down from generation to generation, through painting, when a painting workshop was organised for them by their niece, artist Barbara Weir, who’s work also features in the show.”