Established 2016, Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, Australia

The Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) Project is a series of major installation-based works rooted in age-old traditions, knowledge and skills that are designed around keeping Country and culture strong. It is an ongoing cultural maintenance project that shares the skills of spear making across generations. Under the direction of male Elders including Frank Young, young men are taught the skills of carving and kulata (spear) production as a means of cultural maintenance. It has since grown to include over 200 Aṉangu men from three generations across the APY Lands in South Australia. The artistic outcomes take the form of large-scale, multi-disciplinary installations which incorporate film, sound and live performance.

Frank Young is a Senior Pitjantjatjara man and has held leadership positions across the APY Lands; currently he is a director of Tjala Arts and the APY Art Centre Collective. As a young man, he worked with senior men during the 1970s Land Rights Movement on the APY Lands. Young has worked on the Kulata Tjuta Project since its inception in 2010. As a painter, he depicts the story of the Kulata, incorporating Pitjantjatjara text in his work, recounting the Tjukurpa (cultural stories) of the spears along with methods of crafting kulata.