Kulata Tjuta: Tirkilpa

Overview

Kulata Tjuta is an ongoing cultural maintenance project that shares the skills of carving and making the punu kulata (wooden spear) across generations. It started as a project involving a small group of men in Amata and has grown to include over 100 Aṉangu men across the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.

Kulata Tjuta: Tirkilpa is the largest and most significant installation of the culturally important and visually spectacular Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) Project. Like others in the series, it is rooted in age-old traditions, knowledge and skills that are designed around keeping Country and culture strong.

The Kulata Tjuta project was formally established in 2010 at Tjala Arts in the community of Amata, when Mick Wikilyiri (c 1938 Pitjantjatjara), Frank Young (c 1949 Pitjantjatjara), Barney Wangin (1939–2012 Pitjantjatjara), Tiger Palpatja (c 1920–2012 Pitjantjatjara), Hector Burton (c 1937–2017 Pitjantjatjara) and Ray Ken (c 1940–2018 Pitjantjatjara) formally conceived of the project under the direction of Willy Kaika Burton (c 1941 Pitjantjatjara).

The artistic outcomes take the form of large-scale, multi-disciplinary installations which incorporate film, sound, live performance and other artistic collaborations.