SALA FESTIVAL: Sheila Whittam's 'The Cedars'  

From July 30 to August 22, South Australia’s artists are exhibiting themselves, in a good way. The South Australian Living Artists festival provides an opportunity to showcase the diversity, colour and depth of a record breaking 3,000 participating visual artists.

‘The sheer size of our program reflects the significance of the visual arts in our community,’ says Conny Wilson, Chair of the SALA Festival. ‘Nowhere else is there such a Festival, engaging the number of artists; and occupying as many venues and spaces across the State as SALA does.’

There will be 518 exhibiting spaces involved in the festival, ranging from metropolitan and regional wineries, cafes, galleries and boutiques, to hotels, sculpture parks, theatres and collaborative spaces.

‘For 24 days, the 2010 SALA festival is going to capture your imagination, inspire you, challenge your perceptions, invite conversation and ignite your appreciation of the visual arts,’ says penny McAuley, SALA’s General Manager. ‘And it’s completely free.’

This best way to find out what is going on in your area is to visit the festival website, at www.salafestival.com as the range of choice is indeed staggering. The program has been divided into six categories: Cutting Edge (Post/post modernism, experimental and installations), Contemporary (post modernism), Modern (modernism, covering semi-abstract to abstraction), Traditional (realistic works), Craft and Design (medium based, eg. ceramics, glass, jewellery etc.) and Other, which covers the miscellaneous, venues with multiple categories and community exhibitions. You can also search by venue, region, date or key word. You can also download maps of the venues in Adelaide, Port Adelaide and Enfield and the Clare Valley.

Some examples of the diversity of the festival include:

The Cedars, the former home of Sir Hans Heysen and his family in the Adelaide Hills, will be exhibiting the work of artist-in-residence Sheila Whittam, bringing together a unique bond of venue and artist. The exhibition, ‘Portrait of a House’ explores Whittam’s response to the house, as both a repository of domestic and historic memories and as a built environment that provides rich visual metaphors and child-like curiosities.

At the Artspace Gallery in the Adelaide Festival Centre will be ‘Our Mob: a statewide celebration of remote and regional South Australian Indigenous artists’. The exhibition is in its fifth year and features works from the Anangu /Pitjantjatjara /Yankunytjatjara Lands, Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and Far North communities amongst others.

The SALA Moving Image Project 2010 will showcase South Australian established and emerging moving image, performance and installation artists across a number of venues. Queens Theatre will act as its hub but look out for the Rundle Street Lanterns pixilation project. There will also be workshops, forums and artists talks.

Tours to South Australia’s wine regions can also include some artistic indulgences. In the Clare Valley, Janet Bridgland’s modernist works are being exhibited at Mitchell Wines, while local emerging artis are on display at Pikes Wines. The historic post office space of Burra Regional Art Gallery is holding ‘Gold ‘n’ Fleece, a whimsical ‘wool extravaganza’ while down the road at Burra Burra House, Deborah Baldassi is displaying ‘Bottoms in Burra’ a celebration of the ‘beauty, wonder and humour of the bottom.’

Charting Creative Business Connection is a special two-day workshop supported by The City of Unley and the Australian Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) for artists and arts organisations, which will provide practical support on promotion, marketing, sponsorship, networking and contracts. The presenters will be Fiona Lange, who has 25 years experience in media and community project marketing, and Susan Benham Page, Directo of AbaF South Australia and Northern Territory.

On Tuesday, 10 August there will be an official awards night at Keith Murdoch house where the winners in eleven categories will be announced, such as SA Life Emerging Artist Award for an artist in any medium who has held their first solo exhibtion in the past five years or the $5,000 The Advertiser Business SA Contemporary Art Award for the most outstanding work in any medium for 2010

The final official event of the festival on Sunday August 22, from 10am – 4pm will be SALA on Sale when the festival hits King William Road. Over 200 nominated works will be on display in an artist’s marquee for sale to the public, as well as live music and family entertainment.

So take an hour, a day or a weekend to share, explore and experience South Australia’s vibrant artistic culture.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LIVING ARTISTS (SALA) FESTIVAL
July 30- August 22, 2010
Program details: www.safafestival.com

Portrait of a House, a visual interpretation of Hans Heysen’s family home
By Sheila Whittam
August 6 – 19
Opening: 6.30pm, Friday August 6.
Guest Speaker: Richard Heathcote, Director of Carrick Hill
Hahndorf Academy
68 Main Street, Hahndorf
Hours: 10am – 5 pm daily
Monday - Sunday
T: 08 8388 7250

Our Mob: A Statewide Celebration of Remote and Regional South Australian Indigenous Artists
July 31 – September 5
Adelaide Festival Centre, Artspace Gallery Upper Level Dunstan Playhouse, King William Rd, Adelaide
Opening Hours: Wed- Sat: 12pm-5pm, Sun:12-4pm
Days: Wed-Sun
T: 8216 8850

SALA Moving Image Project 2010
Karen Paris (Curator)
August 1 – 14
Queen's Theatre
Playhouse Lane, Adelaide (access from Currie St or Morphett St)
Opening Hours: 11am - 5pm
Days: Tues - Sun

Clare Valley's Emerging Artists @ Pikes
July 30 – August 23
Opening Night: July 30, 5.30pm
Artists: Jake Bezzina, James de Blas, Khali Griffen, Karen Hayes, Pamela O'Malley, Rebecca Read, Helen Sluggett, Judy Vandeleur, Matt Walker, Tamara Welke, Kay Williams, Nat Yandell, Louise Thomas
Opening Hours: 10-4
Days: Mon- Sun
Pikes Wines
Polish Hill River Road,
Polish Hill River
T: 88434370

Gold 'n' Fleece
Burra Regional Art Gallery
July 27 – September 22
Opening Night: July 30, 5.30 pm
Artists: Vickie Berry, Bev Bills, Janet Castle, Zena Cox, Yvonne Dalton, Denise Gaskell, Alice Keane, Alice Keane, Anna Polias, Maria Salomonsen, Val Surch
Days: Mon - Sun
Opening Hours: 1 - 4 pm
Burra Regional Art Gallery
5 Market Street, Burra
T: (08) 8892 2411

Bottoms in Burra
Deborah Baldassi
Burra Burra House
July 30 – August 22
Opening Night: August 8, 2-4pm
Days: Fri-Sun
Opening Hours: 11-3
Burra Burra House
19 Commercial Street, Burra
T: 88922303

Charting Creative Business Connections
Developing sustainable business relationships
Tuesday August 10 and Wednesday August 11, 9.30am – 4.30pm
Fullarton Park Centre
Fullarton Road
Fullarton
Cost: $50, Catering provided
For further information on eligibility to attend email Matthew Ives, Cultural Development Coordinator, City of Unley, mives@unley.sa.gov.au or call 08 8372 5134