The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre

Celebrating powerful Aboriginal women from regional South Australia.

Grounded in deep listening and cultural practice, Tjukurpa Kunpu tells stories of connection - to Tjukurpa, to each other, and to Country. These thirteen artists are connected from many places across regional South Australia, each of them with deep personal connections to curator Marli Macumba.

Marli Macumba is a Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Arrernte, and Gurindji artist and emerging curator. A Ku Arts First Nations Curators Program Alumni, Marli continues to illustrate her steadfast commitment to elevating First Nations voices through her curatorial practice with her solo curatorial debut, Tjukurpa Kunpu.

With a strong focus on her home community in Port Augusta, she continues to champion opportunities for local artists to share their stories, celebrate culture, and strengthen intergenerational connections. This exhibition will reflect Marli’s evolving curatorial vision, one that centres community, culture, and Country.

Sponsored by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre and co-presented with Ku Arts

Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century Join us for a compelling discussion with George Megalogenis as he unpacks Three Shocks: Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century. In conversation with journalist Tory Shepherd, George will explore how the federal elections of 2022 and 2025 were an overdue wake-up call to three shocks that have reshaped our national identity:

For the first time since federation, we have a population that’s majority migrants and their children. Professional women are now the largest segment of the workforce, replacing blue-collar men. On the world stage, both our allies and our key trade partners have proven unreliable. In an era defined by uncertainty and possibility, what do these shocks mean for our political landscape? Which forces are driving change, and how are political leaders responding? George sheds light on the strategies, debates and decisions that will shape the nation’s future.

Imprints Booksellers will be selling copies of Three Shocks: Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century in the Auditorium foyer on the night of the event.

Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre

Join us for a special event with acclaimed New Delhi-based author Geetanjali Shree, in conversation with Dr Mridula Nath Chakraborty.

Winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation for her novel Tomb of Sand, Shree made literary history as the first author writing in Hindi - or any Indian language - to receive the International Booker Prize.⁠

Confronting the experiences of Partition, Tomb of Sand also explores what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman and a feminist. The novel was shortlisted for the 2021 Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature and received the 2025 Luna Virino International Award.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary international literature, celebrated for her innovative use of language and structure.

In association with The Wheeler Centre, Byron Writers Festival and Sydney Writers’ Festival.

Register to attend this event either in-person or to watch the live-stream online.

READ MORE AND REGISTER FOR THIS FREE EVENT

You are welcome to view our exhibition, Artists On The Inside, showing in the Kerry Packer Civic Gallery prior to the event.