In-Conversation: Tennant Creek Truths
WHEN ARTIST AND MUSICIAN ALICIA SCOBIE first moved to Tennant Creek from down south, she was struck by how green the town centre was.
“It’s not as orange or as dusty as people think – there are all these pastels of beautiful pinks and purples. The stars are also unbelievable, it’s like you can reach up and grab them. And the people of Tennant are wonderful and have a great sense of humour and they tell a really good story,” she says.
The picture Alicia paints of the outback town, almost 1000km south of Darwin, is different to the picture the media paints, and she’s determined to make sure it's positive stories that are told.
Alicia now calls Darwin home, and is digging deeper into the history and the stories of Tennant Creek, re-visiting her old stomping ground to interview locals as part of her 2019 Creative in Residence at the Northern Territory Library.
“I was getting really sick of the negative rhetoric about Tennant Creek in the media. Even while I was living there, it was a hot spot for anything negative going on. But when you immerse yourself within that community, it’s a place with a heart of gold, where your mates become your family. I really wanted to bring some of the positive stories to the forefront.”
The multi-talented artist will write, record and release a five-song EP about the stories she has uncovered, and present an artist book to the NT Library, filled with the stories she’s collected.
“I want to add my own interpretation of Tennant Creek and the people who live there. The project is called Tennant Creek Truths and comes from the voices of people who live or have lived there, and I think that gets missed in the media a bit,” she says.
“The majority of the people I spoke with all had the same thing to say about Tennant – it’s a great place, you just have to take the time to get to know it.”
Join Alicia in-conversation with NT Library’s Anneke Barnes (Assistant Director, Collections and Engagement) as she talks all things Tennant.
In-Conversation: Tennant Creek Truths WED 9 OCT | 5.30-7.30PM | NORTHERN TERRITORY LIBRARY | FREE | ntl.nt.gov.au
