Surf’s up at annual exhibition

Published on 18 December 2025

The annual Surf Art exhibition at Port Noarlunga’s Arts Centre is now open, marking the beginning of summer and celebrating the region’s surfing culture, lifestyle, history and stunning coastal environment.

First held in 1993, the free exhibition has carved a place in the hearts and souls of the southern arts calendar, becoming one of the pivotal features of the Arts Centre’s program.

Scenes of the local coastal environment, or people enjoying the sun, sand and surf of the region’s beautiful coastline are staples in the exhibition, which typically includes a variety of media including painting in oil, acrylic and watercolour; jewellery; mosaics; photography; glassware; ink; textiles and sculpture.

You can see the exhibition from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 1–4pm on Saturdays until Monday 2 February, closed public holidays and between Christmas and New Year’s. The Arts Centre’s Art Shop in the Foyer Gallery is also a perfect spot for last-minute Christmas gifts, with more than 60 local artists’ work on display.

Art Centre Coordinator Nerissa Galloway told ABC Radio Adelaide the Surf Art exhibition works spanned the imagination of artists in Onkaparinga and interstate.

“We’ve got earrings here that look like the waves coming onto the shore, I can see a whale tail made of glass, we’ve got prints and paintings of the surf… anything and everything,” she said.

“It’s a real celebration of the ocean, which is lovely, and our surf culture along the coast, which makes up much of Adelaide.

“We’ve seen a few references to the algal bloom as well, which is something permeating coastal life at the moment. One painting in particular that stands out by Jo Headon has a surfer in a hazmat suit.”

Another, new, exhibition will be held at the Arts Centre from Friday 6 February to Monday 16 March responding to the harmful algal bloom.

The Bloom will be a community focussed exhibition inviting reflection, healing and creative dialogue about our connection to the sea, the fragility of our ecosystems and the resilience of coastal communities.

It will feature 3 elements: Photography, Visual Arts and Written word – with an expression of interest process now open for artists.