Tjukurpa Kunpu (Strong Dreaming)
Curated by Marli Macumba.
Tjukurpa Kunpu celebrates powerful Aboriginal women from regional South Australia.
View the exhibition in person:
2 July - 31 July 2026
Kerry Packer Civic Gallery
Hawke Building Level 3, Adelaide City West Campus
55 North Terrace, Tarntanya/Adelaide
Open weekdays 9am - 6pm
FREE ENTRY
Grounded in deep listening, cultural practice, and a steadfast commitment to elevating First Nations voices, Tjukurpa Kunpu tells stories of connection - to Tjukurpa, to each other, and to Country. These twelve artists are connected from many places across regional South Australia, each of them with deep personal connections to curator Marli Macumba.
ARTISTS
Teresa Baker (Pitjantjatjara)
Kaye Baker (Pitjantjatjara)
Marika Davies (Dieri, Wangkangurru)
Juanella Donovan (Adnyamathanha, Lower Southern Arrernte, Luritja)
Loretta Macumba (Eastern Arrernte, Gurindji, Pitjantjajtara, Yankunytjatjara)
Ellen Macumba (Eastern Arrernte, Gurindji)
Marli Macumba (Eastern Arrernte, Gurindji, Pitantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara)
Jean May Reid Uluru (Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara)
Jennifer Reid (Kokatha, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunyjtatjara)
Nancy Reid (Kokatha, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara)
Pollyanne Smith (Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara)
Charmaine Wilson (Ngarrindjeri, Pitjantjatjara)
Image: Pollyanne Smith and Marli Macumba (curator) cutting punu (wood) on Country May 2026. Photograph: Marika Davies.
Image: Pollyanne Smith holding Papa (dog) with basket, 2026, Tjanpi, rraffia and wool. Photo: Mel Henderson.
“Tjukurpa is everything to us - it’s not just a word it’s our connection. If we don’t have our Tjukurpa we got nothing. That’s what makes us Strong. This is what Tjkurpa Kunpu is an expression of; Strong and Resilient Aboriginal women connected to our Tjukurpa and Country. Many of the women in this show have been an inspiration to me personally as Powerful Matriarchs and Cultural Advisors. All the women have their own presence, and you feel that with each one when you see them, are with them or look at their artworks. Some are Healers. Some are younger ones still establishing themselves. All Are Strong.
As Aboriginal women we aren’t just artists but many things to many people. Tjukurpa Kunpu came about and was possible because of the many roles and community connections I have; from working at the Housing Trust to being an Artist, Student, Daughter, Mother, and an Everything Woman. This exhibition is here to show we aren’t isolated people just living regionally but are people who hold and pass down our knowledge, have skill, and are deeply connected. That’s Our Strength. We want our Tjukurpa and region to be seen and not forgotten.
Tjukurpa is personal and deeply connected to each artist on display here. The viewer doesn’t have to understand or know every Tjukurpa being told through the works, that belongs to that person, but if you sit with the Strength and Culture in each work you can start to see, feel and hear it. This experience is the connection us Mob feel with Tjukurpa, each other, and Country. If you take away anything from Tjukurpa Kunpu, know us women are Proud of our culture and heritage. I’m Proud of my Mob; the women who have trusted me to share their work, and the Tjukurpa Kunpu on display in this exhibition. I love being Aboriginal, I love everything that goes with it.”
— Marli Macumba, curator
Marli Macumba is a Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Eastern Arrernte, and Gurindji artist and emerging curator. Currently living in Port Augusta, Marli works across the disciplines of painting, weaving and fibre art. Her curatorial practice is rooted in community and culture.
Tjukurpa Kunpu is sponsored by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre.
Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre and Ku Arts.
Ku Arts supports independent artists like Marli Macumba through programs and projects in ten regions across South Australia, providing creative and professional development opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. In 2025 Marli participated in Ku Art’s First Nations Curator Program. The week-long intensive focused on building professional pathways for First Nations curators and arts workers through hands-on learning, gallery visits, and meaningful connections to key industry networks. Later the same year, Ku Arts invited Marli to co-curate Gathering: National First Nations Weaving Salon with Kristal Matthews and mentoring from Hannah Presley, Senior Curator, Art Museums at University of Melbourne.
Following on from these transformative experiences, Ku Arts has been proud to continue supporting Marli Macumba as she makes her solo curatorial debut with Tjukurpa Kunpu at Kerry Packer Civic Gallery.
Creating opportunities and pathways for artists to achieve ethical exhibition outcomes, Ku Arts provides personalised support for artists. For Tjukurpa Kunpu this included assistance in writing artist biographies, artwork stories, photographing and cataloguing artworks, and providing benchmark artwork pricing information. Ku Arts manages the sales of artworks in Tjukurpa Kunpu at no cost to the artists, ensuring maximum economic return and a sustainable pathway for these regional and remote artists to continue sharing their stories.
Pollyanne Smith, Clap sticks, 2026, Mangata (quandong), 4x30cm.