WHO WE ARE

Ku Arts (Ananguku Arts and Culture Aboriginal Corporation) is the South Australian peak body for Aboriginal controlled art centres and independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in South Australia. We work with thousands of First Nations artists statewide and support art centres on the APY Lands and throughout regional and remote South Australia.

Ku Arts is a not-for-profit, Aboriginal community controlled visual arts organisation.

ABOUT US

  • Strong arts, strong culture, strong communities.

    Arts kunpu, tjukurpa kunpu, waltja tjuta kunpu.

  • Ku Arts works for, and with, Aboriginal artists, art centres and arts workers across South Australia, delivering support services that allow them to realise their aspirations.

    We help keep arts centres strong, and our culture strong for our children.
    Nganana kunpu kanyinma arts munu culture nganampa tjitji nganampa tjutaku.

  • Ku Arts began in 1998 when artists and art-centre managers from the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands created a regional body to market and support their work across South Australia. Throughout the 2000s Ku Arts broadened its programs to strengthen the South Australian Aboriginal fine‑arts movement by recruiting skilled art‑centre managers, running roving workshops across the western APY Additionally in 2006 the organisation launched the Statewide Indigenous Community Arts Development (SICAD) program to create career pathways, enterprise development and professional creative development opportunities for First Nations artists working where no community-owned art centre existed. 

Ku Arts delivers projects across South Australia including an annual program of workshops and events to support professional, cultural and creative development for artists outside of APY Lands, where there are typically no Aboriginal art centres. Ku Arts believes that delivering programs and projects that support artists’ creative, cultural and professional development allows them to best achieve their aspirations.

PROGRAMS & PROJECTS

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Ku Arts supports art centres through governance mentoring, human resource services, training and employment opportunities for managers and art workers, and by supporting the development of community driven arts and cultural maintenance projects with high quality public outcomes.

The women artists who founded Ku Arts led the development of each of the APY Art Centres, working closely with communities to build suitable facilities and sustainable enterprises owned and led by Aboriginal artists. We continue to auspice infrastructure projects and facility improvements for art centres within the APY Lands, and negotiate access to existing and new buildings and facilities for Aboriginal artists across regional and remote areas of South Australia.

ART CENTRE SUPPORT

Underpinning all of the work that Ku Arts does is advocacy and support for a strong and vibrant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts sector.

Ku Arts is recognised nationally as one of five peak bodies that form a trusted network for sharing information and experiences, influencing the development of public policy as it affects Aboriginal artists and their communities. We contribute to research projects, government inquiries, information and data collection and the making of recommendations for sector improvements.

INDUSTRY &
ADVOCACY

  • Ku Arts is a founding member of the Aboriginal Torres Strait Island Arts and Culture Centre Alliance (the Alliance), a coalition of peak bodies representing regional and remote Indigenous artists across northern and central Australia. 

  • Ku Arts is a supporting member of the Indigenous Art Code (IAC), and we acknowledge the IAC is essential for preserving the integrity of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts sector by promoting transparent, fair, and ethical trade.  By establishing clear guidelines for commercial relationships, the Code guides best practice business behaviour and includes principles of transparency and respect for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, so that artists are supported to make self-determined decisions when selling and licensing their artwork, and buyers are empowered to support the world’s oldest living culture fairly and with confidence.

  • Ku Arts is also a member of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) which aims to improve conditions of work and practice across the visual arts sector through advocacy, education and its Code of Practice. We support NAVA’s Reconciliation Action Plan in its commitment to embedding cultural competence into visual arts sector industry standards.

The Ku Arts head office is located in Tarntanya/Adelaide on Kaurna Yarta. We acknowledge the Kaurna People as the Traditional Owners of this land and respect their living culture.

As an organisation working across South Australia and beyond, we acknowledge and pay our respects to the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations in this country, and their peoples who are the traditional custodians of the lands and waters upon which we live, work, and create. We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture as the oldest continuing culture in the world and celebrate the diversity of language, culture, custom, ceremony and knowledge (lore) of First Peoples as Traditional Owners, custodians and communities with an ongoing connection across land, sea, and waterways.

We also acknowledge our founders, the artists of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, from whom we were given our name, Aṉanguku - for Aboriginal people.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Ku Arts story began in 1998 in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Artists and art centre managers of three art centres in operation at the time; Ernabella Arts in Pukatja, Kaltjiti Arts in Fregon and Iwantja Arts in Indulkana, and the emerging Minymaku Arts (now Tjala Arts) in Amata recognised the need and value of pooling resources to drive success. Out of this, Ananguku Arts was established (now known as Ku Arts).

In 2002, Ku Arts became incorporated and initiated the establishment of locally owned and governed art centres Tjungu Palya in Nyapari, Ninuku Arts in Kalka, and Mimili Maku Arts in Mimili.

In the early 2000’s, it became clear that there were independent Aboriginal artists in regions across South Australia, but they still needed the support and advocacy that an Aboriginal arts organisation could provide. As a result, in 2006, the Statewide Indigenous Community Arts Development (SICAD) Project to assist artists in regional areas was established. SICAD provides access to professional and creative skills development opportunities, enterprise development, and the creation of career pathways for artists across visual arts disciplines.

Today, Ku Arts, is proud to deliver programs and support to multiple locations across South Australia, working for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists who call the state home.

Under the direction of a First Nations board, Ku Arts works in support of a strong and diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts sector that champions the self-determination and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

Some key projects and programs Ku Arts has been involved in since 2004 include:

  • Roving arts workshop projects for artists in the western APY Lands.

  • Recruitment of art centre managers with specific fine art skills and teaching capacity.

  • Regional art workshops focusing on bringing men into art centres.

  • Start up and management of three art centres: Tjungu Palya (2004), Ninuku Arts (2004) and Mimili Maku Arts (2006).

  • Development of the Statewide Indigenous Community Artists’ Development (SICAD) project (2006).

  • Establishing the annual Our Mob exhibition (2006), with the Adelaide Festival Centre and Country Arts SA. Our Mob is a state-wide survey show of new work from South Australian artists.

  • Development of the APY Art Workers Program.

  • Major survey exhibitions including Tjukurpa Pulkatjara (2009) and Ngintaka (2014)

  • Construction and upgrades of infrastructure across the APY Lands

  • Establishing and presenting the first National Weaving Symposium in partnership with JamFactory (2025)

HISTORY