Renowned Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray (c.1914–1996) created compelling, powerful works that reflect her extraordinary life as an Anmatyerr woman born in Alhalker in the Sandover region of the Northern Territory of Australia. One of the world’s most significant painters to emerge in the late 20th century, her lived experience and cultural connections to her Country was translated into vibrant batiks and later into monumental paintings on canvas.
Drop-in events
Music: DJ Sets Programmed by Global Roots
Level 1 Bridge
18.00–21.30
Catch DJ sets programmed by Global Roots all night. Expect an hour of sounds from the central desert in 'Australia' and beyond from RONA followed by a DJ set from Aswan Galaxian rooted in Indigenous Sounds.
Music: DJ Sets Programmed by Global Roots
The Corner Bar, Natalie Bell Building, Level 1
18.00–21.30
Catch DJ and NTS selector Sway of The Verses who specialises in Raga and Tala based music. Recorded for broadcast on GRINradio.com
Music: DJ Sets Programmed by Global Roots
Terrace Bar, Blavatnik Building Level 1
18.00–21.30
Radio host and DJ Lily London brings the party to the Terrace Bar soundsystem. Expect a blend of broken beat, jazz, electronic and R&B.
Workshop: Imagining Biik, Reclaiming Country with Jarra Karalinar Steel
Blavatnik Building, Level 2
18.00–21.30
Join artist Jarra Karalinar Steel as she invites you to play and create, inspired by "Biik" a word meaning country in Boonwurrung Language. Jarra’s work explores her identity, memories, future folklore, Blak Futurism and her lived experiences growing up in Melbourne and living on country surrounded by culture with knowledge passed down through her family and Elders. She is a multidisciplinary artist from Melbourne Australia, based in Melbourne’s south in Euro Yuroke (St Kilda) on Boonwurrung country.
Film: The Liveliness of Country
Blavatnik Building, Level 4 Screening Space
18.00–21.30
Step into the world of artist Emily Kam Kngwarray in this short film. In the 1970s she was introduced to making batiks and then started painting when she was in her seventies. Over 8 years, she produced thousands of canvases and gained worldwide attention. Her work is based on deep cultural knowledge of her ancestral Country, layering motifs representing the plants, animals and geological features around her.
Talks: 10 Minute Talks
Various times, throughout the building
Join Ten Minute Talks and meet volunteers and staff from across Tate who bring our artworks to life as they share personal insights and fresh perspectives into works from the collection.
Workshop: Tate Draw
Starr Foyer, Natalie Bell Building, Level 1 and Blavatnik Building, Level 3
18.00–21.30
Head to our drawing desks and bring your work to life using digital sketch pads. Tate Draw is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Events requiring a ticket
Film: Emily: I Am Kam Preview Screening with Curator Introduction
Starr Cinema, Natalie Bell Building, Level 1
19.30–20.45
Emily: I Am Kam celebrates the legacy of Emily Kam Kngwarray and explores the power of her work to protect her country, Alhalker. The film follows her descendants as they revive awely ceremonies and collaborate on a major retrospective exhibition, helping us gain real understanding of who she was and why she painted, while reaffirming her enduring connection to Country and community. Archival recordings give Kngwarray the opportunity to speak for herself revealing her legacy is so much more than the 3,000 or so paintings she left behind. Emily: I Am Kam is produced by Anna Grieve and Danielle MacLean of Tamarind Tree Pictures, and written and directed by Danielle MacLean. Emily: I Am Kam is a Tamarind Tree Pictures production for NITV in association with Screen Australia, National Gallery of Australia and Screen Territory. The screening will commence with an introduction from Kelli Cole, a Warumungu and Luritja woman from Central Australia and curator of Emily Kam Kngwarray. Cole is the Director of Curatorial & Engagement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia.
*Requires a free ticket, available to book here from 11.00 on 21 July
Workshop: Imagining Biik, Reclaiming Country by Jarra Karalinar Steel
Uniqlo Tate Shop, Natalie Bell Building, Level 1
18.00–18.30, 19.00–19.30, 20.00–20.30 and 21.00–21.30
Jarra Karalinar Steel invites you to play and create, inspired by "Biik" a word meaning country in Boonwurrung Language. Jarra’s work explores her identity, memories, future folklore, Blak Futurism and her lived experiences growing up in Melbourne and living on country surrounded by culture with knowledge passed down through her family and Elders.
*Requires a free ticket, available to book here from 11.00 on 25 July
