Our Mob to Celebrate 10 Years

In its 10th year of presenting the most outstanding work by South Australian Aboriginal artists, Our Mob will celebrate its biggest exhibition yet.

This year, Our Mob will also be a part of the highly anticipated inaugural TARNANTHI (pronounced Tar-nan-dee) Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia. After being expanded to incorporate a number of exhibitions, this year's Our Mob will again include last year's successful Our Mob Contemporary; the Don Dunstan Foundation Our Mob Emerging Artist exhibition; Our Young Mob; an exciting new wearable art parade and of course, the main Our Mob exhibition in Artspace Gallery.

With more than 200 entries, this year's Our Mob main exhibition promises to present the most impressive array of work by South Australian Indigenous artists yet. Works across a range of media including photography, weaving, paint on canvas, sculpture and more will explore a vast array of themes including relationship to land, wildlife, politics, Aboriginal cultures and many others. From James Tylor's striking black and white photographs to Damien Shen's stunning portraiture, Joylene Haynes' evocative light painting and beautiful paintings of country from many remote regions, there'll be something to suit all tastes at Our Mob 2015. As always, most artworks will be for sale, with prices to fit all budgets.

Last year's Don Dunstan Foundation Our Mob Emerging Artist prize winner (and 2015 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award finalist) Anna Dowling will present her own solo exhibition, Ripple Effect, in the Festival Theatre Foyer. Employing a delicate and incredibly detailed ink on paper method, Anna's work explores themes of family, memory and identity with a monochromatic palette and a style that is unmistakably individual. Dowling said of Our Mob, "After submitting my artwork to Our Mob and winning the Don Dunstan Our Mob Emerging Artist prize, I have felt supported and sincerely encouraged to continue creating art and developing as an artist."

Following the success of last year's inaugural Our Mob Contemporary exhibition curated by Coby Edgar, Debra Rankine (who was the recipient of last year's Country Arts SA Regional Emerging Artist Professional Development prize) has taken the curatorial reigns this year to select work for Our Mob Contemporary: Old and New - Unbroken Threads of Ngarrindjeri Tradition. Participating artists Alice Abdulla, Ellen Trevorrow, Debra Rankine, Stephanie Russell and other Ngarrindjeri artists have made new artworks to show the contrast of an evolving culture that still remains true to its traditional roots. "This collection of artworks is more than an art exhibition - it is a story, our story, the Ngarrindjeri story." Rankine said of the exhibition.

Our Young Mob will again celebrate young artists of the future in the Festival Theatre Foyer. This year's exhibition is bursting at the seams with the work of talented kids, and the Our Young Mob prize from Ananguku Arts will provide art supplies for the winner to continue to develop their skills.

For the first time in 2015, Our Mob will include a wearable art parade as part of the opening night celebrations. The parade will feature incredible creations from Ngarrindjeri artists at Camp Coorong, which will then form part of the Our Mob Contemporary exhibition. There will also be an exciting new $2,000 People's Choice Prize from Flinders University and Yunggorendi, allowing the public to vote for their favourite.

Our Mob 2015 will include a number of free public events:

· An opening night celebration will be held on Monday 12 October, including the opening of all exhibitions as part of Our Mob. At 5.30pm, the Our Young Mob prize will be presented in the Festival Theatre Foyer. At 6pm, Debra Rankine will present the Ngarrindjeri wearable art show on the Artspace Gallery Plaza. At 6.30pm, the main Our Mob exhibition will be opened and the Country Arts SA Regional Emerging Artist Professional Development prize and the Don Dunstan Foundation Our Mob Emerging Artist Prize will be awarded. There will be local Indigenous musicians and yarning fires on the plaza.

· Master carver Roy Coulthard, who is an Adnyamathanha Elder, will be an Our Mob artist-in-residence from 10 - 14 October in Artspace Gallery, where the public will be able to see his carving skills in action.

· Artists from around the state will travel to Adelaide to lead school workshops, as well as dance workshops for primary and secondary schools led by Adrianne Semmens.

· In addition to its normal opening times, the exhibition will open for a special preview from 10am - 4pm Saturday 10 October for the TARNANTHI Art Fair and from 11am - 4pm on Sunday 11 October during the TARNANTHI Children's Discovery Trail. Works will be for sale from 10am Saturday 10 October.

Our Mob is a key part of Adelaide Festival Centre's strategy to engage with South Australia's Indigenous community. The Centre recognises the importance of providing an outlet for Aboriginal artists to showcase their work and is committed to providing an avenue for the wider community to learn from and engage with Aboriginal culture.

Adelaide Festival Centre CEO and Artistic Director Douglas Gautier said, "We are so proud to be celebrating the 10th year of Our Mob. Since its humble beginnings, it has grown to encompass multiple exhibitions and become the largest survey of art by South Australian Aboriginal artists in the country. We're pleased that Our Mob is part of the inaugural TARNANTHI Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and we look forward to seeing Our Mob continue to thrive in the future."

Our Mob is proudly presented by Adelaide Festival Centre in conjunction with partners Country Arts SA, Ananguku Arts and Culture Aboriginal Corporation, with assistance in 2015 from TARNANTHI and Arts SA.

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