Green Room: Pink shorts, prizes and a blue chandelier
SA arts & culture news in brief: New Adelaide publishing venture shines a light on local literary scene, striking Chihuly chandelier to become a permanent fixture in the Botanic Garden, Guildhouse announces its next CEO, Cab Fest’s hot ticket, Ruby winners, and prize opportunities for visual artists.
In the pink
Pink shorts are having a moment in Adelaide. Former premier Don Dunstan’s “very short” pink shorts are currently turning heads – and raising eyebrows – at the Art Gallery of SA’s new Radical Textiles show, and now we’re hearing about a new local publishing venture with the colourful name Pink Shorts Press.
Co-founded by Margot Lloyd and Emily Hart, who first met at Wakefield Press and have both since worked at interstate-based publishers, Pink Shorts Press will officially launch during Adelaide Writers’ Week in March next year.
“The name is obviously a bit of a historical and cultural reference for South Australians, but we also just liked the playfulness of it,” the pair told InReview.
“Plus we want to make interesting books on the briefer side, and the words – pink and short – really said that.”
Pink Shorts Press’s first book will be a new edition of South Australian artist and writer Barbara Hanrahan’s 1974 novel Sea Green, which is based on her experience of leaving Adelaide to pursue creative work.
A new edition of Barbara Hanrahan’s Sea Green will be Pink Shorts Press’s first book. Photo: Bri Hammond
Lloyd and Hart say other titles scheduled for release in August include debut works by South Australian authors Olivia De Zilva and Alexander Cothren, and a new Hanrahan book, Annie Magdalene.
They want to shine a light on the literary scene outside the eastern states, and are mainly looking for books that have a connection to SA or the Northern Territory.
“The Australian publishing industry has long been very east-coast centric, but Adelaide has a rich literary history, and we’re excited to be a part of that,” says Hart.
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Pink Shorts Press is open to submissions, and also plans to run writing and editing “wordshops”. More information is available on the website.
Chandelier here to stay
Anyone who has visited Chihuly in the Botanic Garden will be thrilled to know that the Glacier Ice and Lapis Chandelier hanging the the Palm House is here to stay, thanks to South Australian philanthropist Pamela Wall.
The chandelier is one of several new works crafted by celebrated US glass artist Dale Chihuly and his team for the Botanic Garden exhibition and was designed to complement the Victorian glass house’s architecture and blue colouring. It is three metres long and hangs from the Palm House ceiling, making for an especially striking spectacle when lit up during the Chihuly Nights after-dark experience.
It was announced this week that Dr Wall has purchased the chandelier so it can remain in the Botanic Garden permanently.
“As someone who has cherished and supported the arts and nature throughout my life, it fills me with immense pleasure to support the acquisition of such an awe-inspiring glass chandelier made specifically by Dale Chihuly for the Palm House in the Adelaide Botanic Garden,” Dr Wall says.
“This beautiful piece of art will provide enjoyment for visitors to the gardens into the future.”
Chihuly in the Botanic Garden, which features 15 large-scale colourful glass sculptures throughout the garden, continues until April 29, 2025.
Dale Chihuly, Glacier Ice and Lapis Chandelier, 2024, Adelaide Botanic Garden, Chihuly Studio. Photo: Nathaniel Willson
Guildhouse news
Guildhouse has appointed former SA Film Corporation head of production and development Beth Neate as its new chief executive officer.
Neate, who is also the chair of Tutti Arts, has more than 20 years’ experience in the creative sector, with Guildhouse saying that in her role with the SAFC she “oversaw state government investment in the screen industry, driving record levels of local production and establishing new alliances in support of South Australian screen practitioners”.
“She brings an excellent and diverse experience to the role, and is ideally suited to lead Guildhouse into an exciting future,” chair Katie Sarah said in a statement.
Neate, who will take up her new role on January 13, says she looks forward to “listening to, collaborating with, championing and serving South Australian artists, arts organisations, businesses and guilds to drive forward Guildhouse’s vital artist-led work”.
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She replaces former CEO Sarah Feijen, who left in mid-October to take up a new role as director of Artlab Australia.
New Guildhouse CEO Beth Neate.
Ruby Friday
Restless Dance Theatre’s playful and moving 2024 Adelaide Festival show Private View and State Theatre Company of SA’s adaptation of The Dictionary of Lost Words were among the winners at this year’s Ruby Awards.
Private View scooped the award for Outstanding Work or Event Within a Festival at the ceremony last Friday, while The Dictionary of Lost Words – a co-production with Sydney Theatre Company that will have a return season at the Dunstan Playhouse in April – won the gong for Outstanding Work or Event Outside a Festival.
Other winners included Patch Theatre’s interactive installation Superluminal (Outstanding Work, Event or Project for Young People) and the Country Arts SA and Art Gallery of SA exhibition Saltbush Country (Outstanding Regional Event or Project). Among the individual winners were multidisciplinary artist Lila Berry (Frank Ford Memorial Young Achiever Award) and sound designer, recorder and mixer James Currie (Premier’s Award for Lifetime Achievement).
See the full list of winners and finalists on the Arts SA website.
A scene from Restless Dance Theatre’s Private View. Photo: Matt Byrne
Ready, set, gala!
Winter, thankfully, still seems a long way off, but things are already hotting up for next year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival which this week released tickets for its 2025 Variety Gala.
The glitzy centrepiece of the mid-year festival will once again be hosted by effervescent Cab Fest artistic director Virginia Gay, who promises it will “showcase an incredible line-up of local and international acts and give you a tasting plate of the delicious treats we have in store for 2025”.
To be held at Her Majesty’s Theatre on June 5, the Variety Gala will double as a 25th birthday celebration for the Cabaret Festival, which will reveal its full program next year.
Adelaide Cabaret Fest artistic director Virginia Gay is ready to put on the glitz. Photo: Claudia Raschella
Eyes on the prizes
A reminder that entries for the 2025 Ramsay Art Prize will close next Friday, December 13, with $100,000 on offer for the winning artist.
The biennial prize, supported by the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation, invites entries (here) by Australian artists under the age of 40 working in any medium. The winning work will be acquired into AGSA’s collection, and a further $15,000 will be awarded to the People’s Choice Prize winner during the exhibition, which runs from the end of May until the end of August.
The Ramsay Art Prize has previously been won by Ida Sophia, Kate Bohunnis, Vincent Namatjira and Sarah Contos.
Meanwhile, entries are opening early for the next All Connections to Unley art prize, which is open to SA-based artists who can submit works in any artistic medium that have a real or imagined connection to the City of Unley.
The winning artist will receive $5000, with a further $500 awarded for a work selected by Unley’s councillors. Information and entry forms are available online from December 6, 2024, until April 11, 2025, and finalist works will be displayed in an exhibition at the Hughes Gallery in June.
Green Room is a regular column for InReview, providing quick news for people interested, or involved, in South Australian arts and culture. Get in touch by emailing us at [email protected]