Feature Image: Tandanya (provided).
Adelaide’s Tandanya is offering a glimpse into its next chapter this September, bringing together Electric Fields, First Nations artists and acclaimed chefs for a two-night cultural experience that moves from stage to table.
Silent Country, presented as part of Nature Festival, will take over the Aboriginal cultural institute’s Grenfell Street home on Friday 25 and Sunday 27 September, combining live music, an art exhibition, conversations about Country and a one-night native food dinner.
The event is one of the first opportunities for audiences to experience the new direction taking shape at Tandanya ahead of its planned 2027 relaunch, with Aboriginal-led programming bringing different creative disciplines together under one roof.
Tandanya CEO Brenz Saunders said the collaboration with Nature Festival reflects the kind of experiences the organisation hopes to build into the future.
“This new style of events for Tandanya will bring together artists, musicians, thinkers and chefs into the same space to showcase their talents while uniquely expressing concerns about a conservation issue called buffel grass, which is destroying our landscapes and threatening the fire safety of towns across South Australia,” Brenz said.
The program begins on Friday 25 September with a Tandanya-curated group exhibition spanning visual art, sound, moving image, textiles and sculpture. Featured artists include Anna Dowling, Brooke Rigney, Sandra Taylor, Evanna Williams, Colleen Raven, Damien Coulthard, Damien Warman and artists from Tutti Arts.
A panel discussion will follow, exploring the impact of buffel grass and the connections between culture, science and community. Hosted by MC Taigen Ryan, the conversation will feature Yankunytjatjara community leader and buffel grass advocate Zibeon Fielding, researcher Camille Dobson and Brenz Saunders.
The evening will then culminate in a live performance by Electric Fields, the multi-award-winning electronic-soul duo who represented Australia at Eurovision in 2024. Vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding grew up in Mimili in the APY Lands, where buffel grass is changing the landscapes and communities central to the event’s message.
On Sunday 27 September, Silent Country will turn its attention to food, with Indigenous-owned native food company Warndu collaborating with chefs Matt Stone and Shannon Fleming on an intimate, one-night dining experience.
The dinner will be built around native plants and food species under threat, with each course celebrating the abundance of healthy Country while considering what is lost when invasive buffel grass takes over. The evening will explore the issue through the flavours and stories of native produce.
For Tandanya, the two events represent more than a festival program. Founded by community in 1989 on Kaurna Yarta, the institute is preparing for a significant relaunch in 2027, with plans to strengthen its role as a platform for Aboriginal art, knowledge, learning and cultural exchange.
Silent Country offers Adelaide audiences an early look at that vision, bringing artists, musicians, thinkers and chefs together to experience Country through different forms of expression.
SILENT COUNTRY: Opening + Panel Talk + Electric Fields Performance
When: Friday 25 September 2026, exhibition from 4.30pm; formal opening 5.30pm; panel 6.30pm; Electric Fields 7.30pm; concludes 9pm.
Where: Tandanya, 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide.
Tickets: From $15 plus booking fee.
For more information, click here.
SILENT COUNTRY: Buffel Grass. Eating the problem? Or the problem eating Country?
When: Sunday 27 September 2026, 5.30pm–8.30pm.
Where: Tandanya, 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide.
Tickets: From $190 plus booking fee.
For more information, click here.
For more information about the Nature Festival, click here.
