As the music arm of Barkly Regional Arts, Winanjjikari Music Centre (WMC) has made a significant contribution to the music story of the Barkly. WMC promotes access, development, and recognition of the arts by delivering programming across learning, rehearsal, recording and performing, the cornerstones of a musical community.
Learning
Access to music education in the Barkly is severely limited, not least because there is a lack of school-based music programmes. Barkly Regional Arts is a strong advocate for better access to music education in the Barkly. The Winanjjikari Music Centre team work to fill the void in music education by creating music learning opportunities for the Barkly’s residents, providing access to musical instruments, music learning spaces, offering music lessons and collaborating with leading practitioners to deliver school-based music workshops and projects.
Barkly Regional Arts supports skill development for arts workers as well as musicians, facilitating training in live sound and audio production. These skills are highly sought after in Central Australia, WMC’s highly skilled team provide audio visual services across the Barkly and Northern Territory.
Rehearsal
Rehearsal is a key component of the music learning journey, providing crucial opportunities for skill-refinement, collaboration, and group practice. Winanjikari Music Centre provides bands with pre-performance rehearsal opportunities in the weeks and days leading up to major events. Barkly Regional Arts is an advocate for the creation of community-based private, and reservable rehearsal spaces with year-round access for musicians of all ages and skill levels.
Recording
Music recording and release is essential to the professional development and recognition of artists. The studio setting gives artists the opportunity to approach music-making with perfection in sight, whist album releases allow artists to spread their sound and monetise their practice. Winanjikari Music Centre studios provide music recording opportunities to established and emerging artists alike. The studio has helped to transform ideas into reality, improvised jams into timeless classics.
WMC has helped launch and support the careers of many notable Barkly musicians and groups including Warren H Williams, The Sandridge Band, Tableland Drifters, Brian Murphy and the Nomadic, Rayella, Desert Eagles and Newboys Band.
Performance
The opportunity to perform live for an audience is fundamental to the creative development and recognition of artists, and like recording offers an avenue for monetisation of creative practice. Barkly Regional Arts offers year-round performance opportunities for local and national acts, most notably Desert Harmony Festival, a sought-after performance opportunity for local musicians and touring groups alike.
Barkly Regional Arts music events attract large local audiences and provide some of the only local opportunities for the Barkly residents access to live music from the Barkly and beyond. These events are crucial to the Barkly’s music ecosystem, providing moments of inspiration for future musicians, who see their heroes on stage and are encouraged to start learning music themselves.
