The state government will spend $780,000 on repairing Adelaide’s National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, to reopen the art gallery and cultural centre in 2025.

Tandanya – which opened in 1989 and was dedicated to displaying Aboriginal art and hosting cultural events – has been “temporarily” closed since April 2023, with the institution’s recent annual reports detailing workforce issues and the “visibly tired” building.

In January, Tandanya co-CEO Phillip Saunders told InDaily that the building “has been an ongoing problem for a number of years and we are dealing with the legacy of a building which hadn’t had any major repairs done over the last few years, and that’s the issue”.

Today, nearing the end of NAIDOC Week, the state government announced its investment towards supporting the reopening of the Grenfell Street Cultural Institute, sited in what was once the Grenfell Street Power Station.

The state government said the building – owned by the Aboriginal Lands Trust – requires repairs including replacing air-conditioning units and sprinkler heads, works on internal walls to address deterioration, electrical work, painting multiple rooms and replacing carpets.

It’s expected further works will be required beyond the planned January 2025 reopening date according to the state government, which said it also invested $90,000 in building works at Tandanya in 2023 including replacing the fire panel and warning system, repairing fire doors, and replacing emergency and exit lights.

Paint peeling at the entrance of Tandanya on Grenfell Street. Photo: David Simmons/InDaily.

Tandanya co-CEO and artistic director Lee-Ann Tjunypa Buckskin, who was appointed in April this year, said the institute was “very pleased” to have received the extra grant funding for building repairs.

“Tandanya’s board of directors and executive team have been working closely with the state government to address critical infrastructure issues impacting the building being reopened to the public,” Buckskin said.

“We are very pleased to have received this grant of $780,000 to address the short-term maintenance needs of the building, enabling us to open and deliver our program in January 2025.”

Arts minister Andrea Michaels, who in July last year referred InDaily back to Tandanya when asked questions about the closure as “it’s not a government-owned site”, today said it was “fantastic to announce that Tandanya will soon be reopening through this significant investment”.

“Tandanya is an important part of South Australia’s arts community and we have been working closely with them to secure its reopening,” she said.

“We are committed to supporting First Nations artists and creatives and it’s wonderful that Tandanaya will continue to be a dedicated space for Aboriginal artists for generations to come.”

Vandalism on the walls of Tandanya, which has been closed since April 2024. Photo: David Simmons/InDaily.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher also welcomed the news.

“Tandanya has long stood as the dedicated space for cultural works and artistic expression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within South Australia,” Maher said.

“I look forward to Tandanya reopening its doors, welcoming visitors and continuing its rich history of showcasing the works of many talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.”

The announcement comes as questions remain over the future of the Tarrkarri Centre for First Nations Cultures, planned by the former Marshall Government for the former Royal Adelaide Hospital site on North Terrace but put on ice by the Malinauskas Government.

InDaily reported in December that a decision on the development had been delayed until the new year, as the search continued for philanthropic funding to help pay for a project that a report estimated could cost up to $600 million to make it a world-class venue.

The prominent North Terrace site earmarked for the project sits empty, with curator and cultural historian Margot Osborne arguing in InDaily that the government should “switch directions on arts infrastructure to build a new contemporary art gallery” at the site.

Speaking to InDaily in January, Tandanya CEO Saunders said the limbo affecting both the Grenfell Street and Lot Fourteen sites was frustrating.

“We’ve got a hole in the ground on North Terrace, and a decommissioned warehouse called Tandanya sitting here,” he said.

“Pour whatever it is into Tandanya. You don’t have to build what I believe will be a dinosaur – put some money into the decommissioned warehouse.”