Kumarangk: Exhibition will launch at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental in February, with over 20 works honouring the Ngarrindjeri women protestors who resisted the building of the bridge from Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island in the 1990s.

For years the women faced an onslaught of attacks from within the media and politics for speaking truth on culture and Country.

Today, this exhibition is the first step in telling the story from the women’s perspective, to be followed by a documentary film, theatre performance and community archive.

Curated by Dominic Guerrera (Ngarrindjeri/Kaurna) with associate curators Danni Zuvela and Jayda Wilson (Gugada/Wirangu), the exhibition showcases works from a line-up of thirteen Ngarrindjeri women artists across generations and disciplines, providing a platform for them to speak and be heard. 

They are Sandra Saunders, Aunty Betty Sumner, Sonya Rankine, Carly Tarkari Dodd, Tiarnie Edwards, along with the Mardawi Collective made up of Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, Temeika Campbell, Zemiah Campbell, Debra Rankine, Elizabeth Rankine, Bessie Rigney, Stephanie Russell and Margi Sumner.

The women have created an array of Ngarrindjeri weaving, soft sculpture, painting, text- based work, installation and ceramics, many of which are impressively large-scale.

The range includes Sandra Saunders’ original works from the time of the resistance, The Hindmarsh Island Collection, as well as a newly commissioned work reflecting on the past.

“This exhibition is about the ongoing love and fight in Ngarrindjeri women’s circles,” Sandra says.

“It finally gives me and my sisters, as artists and activists, a chance to tell our story our way.

“Culture is important and heritage places of significance to Aboriginal people are important to every Australian.

“We celebrate the strong women who stood up and fought to protect heritage, even through the firestorm that surrounded them.” 

Dominic Guerrera says the exhibition is a proud moment for him as a Ngarrindjeri person and artist.

“Exhibition is an intergenerational love letter for Ngarrindjeri women, exploring the survival of culture and the resistance to the destructive forces of the colony,” he says.

“From Tiarnie Edwards, who comes from a strong protest background and is the youngest person exhibiting, to Aunty Betty Sumner, who was inspired to complete unfinished weaving for this project, the works in this exhibition are not only huge in size, but in heart and history.

“Text by Aunty Katrina Powers and Aunty Eunice Aston will also feature in the front of house to set the tone and intention of the exhibition while paying respects to mother earth and our Blak Matriarchy.”

Adelaide Contemporary Experimental will be activated each Saturday during the exhibition period with artist and curator talks, weaving workshops and a film screening.

“We at ACE are honoured to be the first home of Kumarangk: Exhibition as it makes its debut,” says ACE artistic director, and exhibition co-curator, Danni Zuvela.

It’s incredibly exciting to give patrons the chance to revisit this historical moment in such depth and with so many opportunities for reflection.

“It has been an amazing experience seeing these works come to life and I can’t wait for the public to be part of it.”

Kumarangk: Exhibition’s opening event will be held on Saturday 21 February from 2pm to 4pm at ACE. It will run until 4 April.

To RSVP to the opening, and register for upcoming talks and workshops, keep an eye on the Country Arts SA website.