$10 million transformation planned for Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre

The Northern Territory Government is next week releasing a construction tender for a $10 million transformation of Tennant Creek's flagship tourist attraction - Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre (NNACC).

The NT Government's investment in the NNACC is part of its innovative Arts Trail which is positioning the Northern Territory as a world-class tourist and cultural destination.

Concept designs have been presented to the Warumungu owners of the NNACC by Chief Minister Natasha Fyles who noted "Regional galleries like Nyinkka Nyunyu showcase the Territory's unique Aboriginal art and culture.

"Since 2003, Nyinkka Nyunyu has been the arts, culture, and social hub of Tennant Creek and our $10 million investment will modernise the precinct and provide the perfect platform to further showcase the region's Aboriginal art, culture, and stories."

Located beside the sacred site of the ancestral nyinkka (spiny-tailed goanna), NNACC also plays a significant role in the community as a vital keeping place, and cultural and learning hub for Warumungu people of the Barkly region.

Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation Chair Linda Turner shared "The steering committee has worked hard with the architects Susan Dugdale and Associates and Freeman Ryan Design; and the project team to develop the designs for the upgrades and create the new immersive exhibition experiences to achieve our vision for the centre."

Plans for upgrades at NNACC - created by Alice Springs architects, Sue Dugdale and Associates and Freeman Ryan Design - include:

• a new exhibition space incorporating technology to capture visitors' imaginations, drawing them back to times when the nyinkka forged tracks through the landscape;

• truth telling exhibition from a Warumungu perspective of Australia's collective past, the history of contact and its impacts on Warumungu land, culture and people;

• museum and exhibition space that showcases important traditional cultural objects and practices, along with the dynamic contemporary art of Warumungu artists and the Barkly region;

• a new café and art gallery retail space featuring a story corridor that leads visitors onto the site;

• commercial kitchen, flexible spaces for meetings and events, and outdoor sitting decks with views across the site in the cultural centre;

• new outside loop path, walkways, and a viewing platform for the sacred site supported by cultural interpretation signage in Warumungu and English;

• landscaped design featuring local native plants including bush foods; and performance areas for arts and cultural performances, festivals and events.

The project is led by the NNACC steering committee and Traditional Owners in consultation with the Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation Board, staff and stakeholders.

NT Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Chansey Paech adds "we have worked closely with local Warumungu Traditional Owners and the Julalikari Council to develop purpose-designed spaces which will enhance existing features of the precinct.

"The design ensures the protection and respectful access to the sacred site of the nyinkka around which the facilities are built."

Image. Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Cultural Centre