The Australia Council, with the First Nations Strategy Panel, will present Purrumpa – a national gathering and celebration of First Nations arts and culture to be held be held over five days on Kaurna Yerta at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 31 October to 4 November 2022.
The historic occasion will mark the largest national gathering of First Nations arts and culture in 50 years.
As part of the anniversary of the establishment of the Australia Council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board, the gathering will celebrate the remarkable achievements in the First Nations arts and culture sector over the last 5 decades.
In 1973, a national seminar on Aboriginal Arts in Australia in Canberra was attended by approximately 400 representatives from across the country. Funded by the newly formed Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council, the meeting established guidelines designed to encourage First Nations people around the country to participate in a broad range of arts activities.
Purrumpa will celebrate the 50th anniversary of this significant milestone, and to enable a national collective voice across all areas of First Nations arts and cultural practice.
As we reflect on the past and look to the future, this will be an important moment to come together to continue conversations about First Nations peoples’ self-determination, development, and priorities for the national advocacy of First Nations arts and culture.
First Nations artists, organisations and communities are invited to keep up to date and follow the journey to Purrumpa by joining the dedicated mailing list.
Australia Council Executive Director for First Nations Arts and Culture Franchesca Cubillo said “Purrumpa is set to be a momentous occasion as we celebrate the achievements of the past five decades and reflect on what the next 50 years could look like. Purrumpa will include deep listening, as well as important conversations about First Nations peoples’ self-determination, development, and priorities for the national advocacy of First Nations arts and culture.”
If you would like to present a case study, panel discussion, interactive workshop or performance at Purrumpa, please fill out our expressions of interest form by midnight Sunday 28 August.