Desert Harmony Festival 2022: Wrapped

Kasey Chambers

As the dust settles on Desert Harmony Festival 2022: Mappul Anyul Wilyarra-Jani, Sharing Together we reflect on another successful year of sharing and celebrating arts with the Barkly community.

This year, Desert Harmony Festival saw over 3000 people pass through the gates of Barkly Regional Arts over the Picnic Day long weekend.

Featuring 27 performances, an extensive workshop series, and an art fair over four days in Tennant Creek, the annual festival provided an opportunity to celebrate and showcase talented creatives from the Barkly region alongside some special guest performances.

This year the Variety Spectacular, held on Saturday the 30th of July, saw the likes of Kasey Chambers, Warren H Williams, Kankawa Nagarra (Olive Knight), Katanga Junior and Ray Dimakarri Dixon take to the Tennant Creek stage.

 

A decade-long Tennant Creek tradition, Sunday’s BAMFest, showcased the best bands and artists from the Barkly and beyond, closing the festivities with a bang.

Combining a mix of genres, styles, sounds, and languages, the 2022 BAMFest delighted audiences with a line-up featuring Desert Eagles, Eastern Arrernte Band, Newboys, Harold Dalywaters and more.

 

In addition to the four days of festivities held at Barkly Regional Arts and Nyinkka Nyunyu Art & Culture Centre, Barkly Regional Arts also ran a satellite series for the festival beginning in June and consisting of tie-dye, circus, DJ and drumming workshops at Tennant Creek Primary School, Tennant Creek High School and Alekarenge School in Ali Curung, plus the Barkly’s first slam poetry event in partnership with Red Dirt Poetry Festival.

We would like to thank all those who joined us for a wonderful weekend of arts and culture. We give particular thanks to the artists, volunteers, partners and sponsors who made this year’s festival possible!