Aboriginal culture is strong in Tennant Creek. The traditional landowners of this area are the Warumungu people. According to Warumungu legend, the town of Tennant Creek grew up around the home of a spiky tailed goanna called Nyinkka - a powerful ancestral being. Tennant Creek has a population of 3500 people and is situated in the Barkly Tablelands on the Stuart Highway, 510 kms north of Alice Springs. The Barkly, which it serves, is a huge, and sometimes forgotten, expanse of 240,000 square kms between the tropical 'Top End' and the arid 'Red Centre', approximately the size of Victoria, with a population of 9000 people. 70% to 80% of the population is Aboriginal with 13 different traditional language groups that are still being spoken.
Beyond Empathy has been conducting arts intensive residencies in Tennant Creek since 2007, working closely with Julalikari Youth Development Unit, Barkly Arts, and several other local organisations.
The project is designed to meet the following objectives:
- Successfully engage participants and support networks
- Conduct quality arts intensive arts program and activities
- Produce quality performance and arts based outcomes
- Build social cohesion
- Provide access to arts based training and development
- Strengthen participant Wellbeing
- Develop capability of local support workers and artists
- Strengthen social participation
Beyond Empathy has also conducted arts based workshops as part of the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds (HBHM) program supported by the Coca Cola Australia Foundation. HBHM takes a holistic approach to health through a program of the arts, with activities that encourage the importance of health and mentor positive self-expression and, over the course of the program, the team delivers workshops and programs including:
- Lullabies in Lingo with Singer/Songwriter, Jacqueline Freeman.
- Let’s Dance! for schools and community groups, run by So You Think You Can Dance stars Travers Ross and Lamb.
- The Expression Sessions with DJ K-note and Juvarn Thebus.
We believe that the residences are providing the framework to deliver long-term benefits to the community through the unique combination of healthy eating and reading and writing programs along with sport, dance, music and film-making.
