The Art of Inspiring Communities in 2021 - 2022
Attendances 374,491
attendances to live events
150,040 Far West & North 65,433 Adelaide Hills, Barossa, Fleurieu & Kangaroo Island 46,784 Yorke & Mid North 46,541 Limestone Coast 34,125 Murraylands & Riverland 31,568 Adelaide & National
Events 2,045
events of which 1,633 were at Country Arts SA Arts Centres
Employment 1,094
artists and arts workers employed with 550 from regional South Australia, and 230 are First Nations`
Artists
Two visual artists undertook four-week regional residencies:
Gail Hocking at Palace of Production, Emu Bay on Kangaroo Island, and Deborah Prior at Grindell’s Hut, VulkathunhaGammon Ranges National Park in the Northern Flinders Ranges on Adnyamathanha country.
Artlands conference
84 community artists and arts workers came together in Lobethal for the national Regional Arts Australia Artlands conference, connecting with colleagues around the nation in a live streamed two-day event in September.
“Artlands always reminds me that I am part of something bigger. A rich, diverse, resilient and skilled sector of regional writers, artists, curators, producers, facilitators, performers, arts workers and allies."
— Alysha Herrmann
11 works presented including 5 First Nations works
new works produced including 3 First Nations works The Photo Box Emma Beech, with Brink Theatre The World is Looking for You Sarah Brokensha, with Brink Theatre and Control Party Sartori Lewis Major Projects Ngatchu Yarta – My Country Juanella McKenzie (Breaking Ground) Dry Catherine Fitzgerald Lolo and Papa Anya McKee, Anton Gabutina and Espoir Alpha
Top right: Juanella McKenzie, Urdlu and Virlda Blanket, 2021, kangaroo and possum pelts, hemp waxed thread, dimensions variable. Bottom right: Chris De Rosa, Under here my dreams are made of water 2021, papier-mâché, etching, giclee print, collage, wire, glass beads, sand, studio floor debris, pigment, polymer paint, wire, tape, pu foam, spray paint, silk cord, rope. Dimensions vaiable, approx. 300 x 300 x 300 cm.
Photo: Wendy Prior
6
New work
Ngatchu Yarta — My Country
This Breaking Ground exhibition by Adnyamathanha and Luritja artist Juanella McKenzie in August 2021 was part of SALA in Adelaide. Offering viewers a visually dynamic and exploratory insight into the deep connection, custodial care, and wonder felt by Juanella for her country, the exhibition was also successfully shown at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery in May 2022.
Country Arts SA commissioned a new film Seeds Of Change which followed Ngarrindjeri Elder Mark Koolmatrie who is actively spreading the word about healing Country practices. An exclusive community premiere screening of a film made with the Narungga community for the Wild Dog exhibition also featured in Point Pearce.
Harbingers:
Care or Catastrophe
, brings together five diverse artists Chris De Rosa (Port Elliot), Lara Tilbrook (Kangaroo Island), Ellen Trevorrow (Meningie/Coorong), Clancy Warner (Sellicks Beach), Laura Wills (Adelaide) with strong connections to regional SA, whose practices draw attention to our inherent interconnectedness with the natural world and the complexities of humankind’s influences on our environments.
Uncle Mark Koolmatrie performing a smoking ceremony at Yundi in Seeds Of Change.Even with continued challenging conditions due to Covid-19, we presented 2,045 events across the state with 14,204 people performing on our regional stages and a further 2,552 people backstage.
181,462 people took part in 80 community run events and projects in 52 locations statewide.
Nunga Screen is a program of films created by First Nations artists screened from Reconciliation Week through to NAIDOC Week, 2022.
These free screenings for children and families attracted a total of 2,914 people to 48 screenings across 23 sites in Gawler, Mount Gambier, Salisbury, Renmark, Whyalla, Noarlunga, Port Pirie, Victor Harbor, Marion, Gumeracha, Port Lincoln, Roxby Downs, Ceduna, Andamooka, Goolwa, Naracoorte, Burra, Oaklands Park, Port Augusta, Yorketown, Maitland, Wallaroo and Adelaide CBD.
Federal Government State Government Local Government Earned Income Total investment $9.69m 16% 49% 5% 30% Funding
Above: New Visions of
Community
Country, Nunga Screen 2022. Pictured Lavene Ngatokorua.
About us
Our vision is for artists and the communities of regional South Australia to thrive through engagement with the arts, and be recognised as valued contributors to the nation's cultural voice.
Country Arts SA aims to transform the way the arts are made and engaged with in regional South Australia.
• We keep regional South Australia at our core
• We generate local and national legacies by embedding artists in regional communities
• We embrace diverse experiences and perspectives and address the barriers that keep people from getting involved in the arts
• We nurture, celebrate and showcase creativity from across regional South Australia
• We embrace diversity and act with integrity, transparency and generosity
Country Arts Foundation Launch
In a major milestone for regional arts in South Australia the new Country Arts Foundation was officially launched in November 2021. Chair Rod Jones was joined by Directors Kate Facy, Sonya Hender, Petria Ladgrove, Robin Matters, Paula Murray, Michael Luchich and Anthony Peluso and the Country Arts SA staff team in Port Augusta, Mount Gambier and Adelaide concurrently to outline its ambitious agenda for the future.
Acknowledgement of Country
At Country Arts SA, we live and create on the land of the First Nations people of South Australia and pay our respects to elders past and present.
We embrace the principle of 'First Nations First' and are committed to working together to safeguard, celebrate and present First Nations' living cultures.
Cover image: Ellen Trevorrow, Interconnected stories , 2021, Cyperus Gymnacaulos and Cyperus Vaginatus (rushes), synthetic yarn, galvanised wire, MDF board, hooks, total diameter: 180 cm, weaving: 144 x 110 x 6 cm.
Photo: Rosina Possingham. Photo: Sia Duff