It's Tarnanthi's birthday, and the renowned contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art festival is throwing a party.

ARIA Award-winning First Nations hip hop collective 3% will stage a free performance at the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) for the October 16 launch of the festival, which is celebrating its 10th year.

The anniversary will also be marked by a major exhibition - Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi - as part of its state-wide festival of 30 exhibitions and events across 24 partner venues, and an in-person Tarnanthi Art Fair at Union House at Adelaide University.

The open-air launch, free and open to the public, will take place on AGSA’s North Terrace forecourt on Thursday 16 October at 6pm, and will include a Kaurna Welcome to Country, a keynote address from Professor Megan Davis AC, the Whitlam Fraser Chair at Harvard University and constitutional law expert, alongside the live performance from 3%.

Featuring Angus Field, Corey Webster aka Nooky, and Dallas Woods, 3% references the percentage of Australia’s population that are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

The group is known for its powerful live performances that are steeped in the culture and stories of First Nations people, while pushing the boundaries of hip hop, pop and storytelling.

Too Deadly: Ten Years of Tarnanthi assembles more than 200 landmark works of art that have been acquired into AGSA’s collection over 10 years of Tarnanthi.

Curated by Artistic Director Nici Cumpston OAM (pictured), Too Deadly reflects on Tarnanthi’s first decade, recontextualising important works, allowing new dialogues to emerge between works of art and showcasing the artistic excellence of First Nations artists from across the country.

The Tarnanthi Festival also stretches statewide, with dozens of exhibitions and events at partner venues across Adelaide and around South Australia.

Included in this year’s partner program is the world premiere of The Colleano Heart on 19 October as part of the Adelaide Film Festival.

Directed by Pauline Clague, this new film explores a circus family’s hidden legacy as descendants reunite across continents, uncovering their Aboriginal ancestry, global stardom and the extraordinary secrets they kept in order to survive.

At The Odeon, Norwood, the Australian Dance Theatre in association with Kurinji will present Two Blood, a thrilling blend of film, music and movement in which a Tagalaka woman and Cantonese man embark on a forbidden love affair.

And 2025 sees the much-anticipated Tarnanthi Art Fair return as an in-person event on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 October, with more than 30 art centres from across Australia and thousands of works from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists for sale.

Presented at a new venue, Union House at Adelaide University, the Tarnanthi Art Fair (pictured) offers a unique opportunity to buy works of art directly from First Nations artists and art centres, with all works made and sold ethically.

Every dollar from each purchase goes directly to the artists and their community-run art centres, delivering vital economic benefits to communities where art production is an important source of income. Works for sale include paintings, ceramics, sculpture, woven objects, jewellery, textiles, clothes and homewares. Prices range from under $50 to $15,000.

Tarnanthi Artistic Director Nici Cumpston OAM said: "The Tarnanthi Art Fair celebrates the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and provides the opportunity to personally meet the artists and directly support them with your purchases.

"We look forward to welcoming artists from across Australia and sharing in the celebration of their magnificent work with our visitors.

"With over 65,000 years of continuous cultural connection to this Country, the artists each have their unique form of expression and ways to share their stories. Please feel welcome to join us as we discover the richness in storytelling across the entire Tarnanthi program."

The word tarnanthi (pronounced TAR-nan-dee) comes from the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains. It means to spring forth or appear – like the sun and the first emergence of light.

Since it began in 2015, Tarnanthi has established itself as Australia’s leading First Nations arts festival, with more than 2.2 million people visiting Tarnanthi exhibitions and events that have showcased the radical ingenuity and expansive practice of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and creatives.

Over the past 10 years, Tarnanthi has provided a platform for almost 9500 First Nations artists to present their works of art, building understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture for audiences in Australia and around the world.

Visit the website for full details of the 2025 Tarnanthi Festival and its programs and events.