Tarnanthi Art Fair

A reminder to art lovers near and far that thousands of works from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across the country will be for sale this weekend via the online Tarnanthi Art Fair.

While the digital platform may not offer the same tactile and social opportunities as an in-person fair, it does mean you can browse the works from any location – and return to shop as often as you like between 5pm on Friday, October 18, until 9pm on Monday, October 21.

One of the Ninuku Arts works being blown in JamFactory’s glass studio. Photo: Connor Patterson

More than 50 art centres across Australia will be offering paintings, ceramics, sculpture, woven objects, jewellery, textiles, clothes and homewares, with sales directly benefitting both the artists and their communities.

Among works for sale in the Tarnanthi Art Fair this year are pieces created by artists from Ninuku Arts, located in the remote community of Kalka in the APY Lands, in a special collaboration with glass blowers from JamFactory. The Ninuku artists – Margaret Donegan, Carol Young and Nancy Paddy – travelled to Adelaide last week to see their creations come to life in JamFactory’s glass studio.

You can visit the Tarnanthi Art Fair here. And keep an eye out, too, for the Ninuku Arts exhibition of glass works at JamFactory from December 26, to be presented in conjunction with Chihuly in the Botanic Garden.

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On the subject of Chihuly, Adelaide Botanic Garden says the exhibition is attracting a record number of visitors, with a total of 180,302 people experiencing the 2km-long art trail over its first 18 days.

The highest daily visitation so far to Chihuly in the Botanic Garden – which features 15 large-scale works by US-based and globally-renowned artist Dale Chihuly – was 15,576, on the October 7 public holiday. That’s the most visitors ever in a single day.

“The blooming of our corpse flower is renowned for attracting big numbers so Adelaide Botanic Garden is no stranger to visitors,” says Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium Director Michael Harvey. “But the buzz surrounding the unveiling of the Chihuly works, combined with school holidays and a welcome warm start to spring, has us tracking over double our attendance against the same period last year.”

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While it is free to visit Chihuly in the Botanic Garden during the daytime, the Botanic Garden says the ticketed events are also attracting strong numbers, with 8556 people having visited Chihuly Nights as of last Sunday, and 10,325 visiting the associated exhibition In Full Colour: Dale Chihuly in the Bicentennial Conservatory.

Raw dance talent

Nine SA dance-makers will converge on Australian Dance Theatre’s home at the Odeon in Norwood over two weeks from October 28 for a “rapid-fire dance catalyst”.

ADT artistic director Daniel Riley says ADT:RAW is “a supportive opportunity for artists to take a risk and throw caution to the wind, capture those initial sparks of inspiration, and take it to an audience”.

Photo: Jonathan VDK

The South Australian artists – Rikki Wilson, Zoë Dunwoodie, Alix Kuijpers, Alison Currie and Sol Ulbrich, Of Desert and Sea (Collective), Gabrielle Nankivell, Samuel Harnett-Welk, Kinetik Collective and Amelia Watson – will be given $300 and three hours of studio time. Tasmania-based dancer and choreographer Jenni Large will also be taking part in the program.

At the end of the two weeks, the ADT:RAW participants will present short showings at a free public event at the Odeon on November 9 (tickets here).

ADT artistic associate Brianna Kell says the program encompasses both emerging and established artists, as well as embracing cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural dance works: “There’s going to be kinetic sound sculptures, a work examining connection to Country, an interrogation of the inaccessibility of the model of Western dance and even an exploration of the shared magic between dancer and audience.”

In raptures with the ASQ

The Australian String Quartet will embark on two national tours next year, with the first – Rapture – beginning with a morning concert at UKARIA Cultural Centre on May 7.

The Adelaide-based ensemble announced the 2025 tours this week. While the program for Rapture includes works by Beethoven, Janáček and Golijov, the highlight will be the world premiere of a new piece by Australian jazz composer Vanessa Perica that is described as an autobiographical exploration of a tumultuous period in her life.

“This work is emotionally charged,” Perica says of the work, which was commissioned by the quartet. “The first three movements explore moments of heavy darkness intertwined with beauty, hope and joy. The fourth movement erupts in an exciting finale, showcasing the virtuosic talents of the ASQ.”

The quartet will present a second performance of Rapture in South Australia at Elder Hall on May 16, in between touring it to Perth, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

ASQ members Chris Cartlidge, Michael Dahlenburg, Francesca Hiew and Dale Barltrop. Photo: Jacqui Way

Convergence, ASQ’s second national touring concert, will feature Schubert’s 14th quartet, Death and the Maiden, alongside works by Mozart and Ligeti. It will be presented at UKARIA on October 16 and at Elder Hall the following evening.

The quartet will also present the Dunkeld Festival of Music in Victoria’s Southern Grampians in March-April (with pianist Aura Go and soprano Sara Macliver as guests) and WA’s Margaret River Weekend of Music in November.

Meanwhile, South Australian music lovers can see the musicians at Adelaide Town Hall next month, when they will perform their final touring concert of 2024, Aurora (details here).

Celebrating the Park Lands

Entries are open for the 2025 Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize, which offers a top prize of $20,000 for the work that best captures the beauty and essence of the city’s green space.

Next year marks the sixth iteration of the prize. It is open to artists of any age or level working across any media, who are encouraged to respond to the theme Inspire. In addition to the first prize for the most outstanding work of any type, it includes categories such as multimedia, emerging artist, First Nations artist, 3D, people’s choice, and artist with a disability.

The APA Prize website says the final prize amounts across the various categories will depend on fundraising success, although organisers hope to be able to match the $50,000 total prize pool offered when the prize was last awarded in 2023. That year it attracted more than 480 entries, with first prize awarded to John Foubister for a painting titled The nobility of rocks and sticks. Life on the ground.

Entries for 2025 are open until January 31 (submit here); donations can also be made to the prize pool via the website. An exhibition of winning and finalist works will be presented at the Adelaide Festival Centre over four weeks from March 28.

Green Room is a regular column for InReview, providing quick news for people interested, or involved, in South Australian arts and culture.

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