Starting life as an art therapy program supporting Aboriginal men facing alcohol and substance addiction, as run by the Anyinginyi Aboriginal Health Organisation, the Tennant Creek Brio (from the Italian word for vivacious life) has taken on a life of its own.
Many local men have embraced the healing positivity of the project, guided by artists Rupert Betheras, Fabian Brown, Joseph Williams, Jimmy Frank and David Duggie. It has become so popular that the Brio boys now live at Nyinkka Nyunyu, Tennant Creek’s dedicated art and culture centre.
Fusing Aboriginal desert traditions with abstract expressionism, street art and art activism and a love of repurposing junk, a rebel streak underpins each artist’s work, and a desire to shake up the status quo.
You can witness their work at Artspace during Biennale.