On 16 October 2014 as part of Anti-Poverty Week, the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) and Barkly Regional Arts presented a virtual tour of Barkly Regional Arts, displaying their work as a community art organisation that provides 50 annual programs or projects to over 800 artists throughout the Barkly region. These include visual artists, musicians, traditional Indigenous dancers, writers, weavers and potters.
The webcast was a collaborative production of Barkly Regional Arts and the National Rural Health Alliance. They come together from the opposite ends of the action spectrum: one a grassroots organisation with fantastic production capacities and credibility; the other Australia's peak non-government organisation for improving rural and remote health. This makes for a powerful cooperative endeavour to prove that remoteness is no barrier to successful engagement through the arts to improve health and wellbeing.
 Gladys Napurula Anderson, Susannah Nakamarra Nelson and Ruth Napajari Dawson holding Susannah's 'Mixed Bush Fruit' painting, 2014 |
Hosted by Artistic Director, Kathy Burns, the broadcast featured live interviews with members of the Winanjjikari Music Centre, Artists of the Barkly, and Media Mob as well musical performances and documentaries. Barkly manage an annual festival (Desert Harmony Festival) and a radio station (8CCC) and have their programs and events placed in remote Barkly communities; giving voice to individuals and communities in a region with its challenges. The National Rural Health Alliance was honoured to work with Barkly Regional Arts and looks forward to our continuing relationship. The NRHA has long understood the close relationship between arts and health in building health and wellbeing. Watch the video to witness the inspiring and touching work of individuals and communities living in the heart of the desert.
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For more information about Barkly Regional Arts visit http://barklyarts.com.au/ Some useful links to Barkly Regional Arts programs are:
- www.mediamob.net.au
- www.facebook.com/barkly.arts
- www.facebook.com/winanjjikarimusiccentre
- www.facebook.com/MediaMob
