Published on 23 July 2024
Get set for SALA Festival 2024
South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival returns from 1–31 August with dozens of exhibitions and events scheduled across Onkaparinga.
Onkaparinga’s galleries, libraries, community centres, schools, cellar doors, eateries, businesses, breweries and clubs will come alive with visual arts, highlighting the many talented and creative artists in the region.
You can find all the exhibitions on show within the City of Onkaparinga by visiting the interactive map on the SALA website, but we’ve pulled out a few highlights below to get you started.
Port Noarlunga Arts Precinct
Port Noarlunga’s historic Sauerbier House will again be a hive of activity with four exhibitions, an open studio and a DIY painting session.
The four exhibitions – Won’t somebody get me off of this reef by Josh Trenwith, Memory Line by Jennifer Eadie and Adrianne Semmens, Surface by Meng Zhang (all exhibitions 10 August to 21 September), and Catchment by Adele Sliuzas (on now until 3 August) – are from previous artists-in-residence at Sauerbier House.
Their works range from painting, print making, craft, installation, textiles, mixed media, moving image, sculpture performance, photography, sound and video, and they explore diverse themes and topics such as surfing, skateboarding, Onkaparinga River and Adelaide Hills landscapes, and a fallen tree that “predates the invasion of Kaurna country”. Check the individual exhibitions dates at each webpage.
The inaugural winners of the City of Onkaparinga SALA Artist Residency, Jackie Saunders and Laura Wills, have begun their 12-week stint at Sauerbier for their “Riverside Studio” residency, and you can experience two events with them during SALA Festival.
On Thursday 15 from 11am to 2:30pm you can join Jackie and Laura for a casual drop-in opportunity to paint with them, while on Saturday 24 August (1–4pm) you can pop into the Riverside Studio to see what they’ve been up to halfway through their artist residence.
Jackie, a First Nations Australian, and Laura, a first-generation Australian with English heritage, come together to support each other in the development of collective practice, and their Rivertime exhibition will follow SALA Festival from 28 September until 2 November.
Sharing a love of drawing and painting, and by working intuitively from the heart, they’re creating new works inspired by the unique landscape around Sauerbier House, particularly the coastal environment – the river estuary, sand dunes and beach.
Nearby at the Port Noarlunga Arts Centre, Monika Morgenstern’s exhibition – The Radiant Now – delves deeply into the idea of the numinous in an ethereal and atmospheric abstract manner through mixed media and painting, and she invites you to an encounter with the unknown.
Onkaparinga Youth SALA Mentorship Program
McLaren Vale’s Good Bank Gallery will host an exhibition featuring the artwork of five young artists through the Onkaparinga Youth SALA Mentorship Program from 8–31 August.
Portal is an exhibition by Ruby Berry, Delilah Childs, Garlic Flakelar, Seb Hurrell and Sarina Jayne, with the mentorship program seeking to nurture and support young emerging artists within the City of Onkaparinga to present an exhibition.
The program is in its fifth year and has supported 16 young artists to exhibit their artwork and develop their practice.
An exhibition launch will be held on Thursday 8 August from 5–7pm.
Libraries
You can enjoy two student exhibitions at Seaford Library during SALA Festival. A variety of works will be on display from Seaford Secondary College’s year 7–12 visual arts students, while the works of All Saints Catholic Primary School students – inspired by the council’s ‘Have you seen this species’ campaign – will also be on show.
At Hub Library, you can enjoy the movie-related paintings at a Home School Students exhibition from 5–9 August and share in their passion for screen.
Community centres and halls
Some of Onkaparinga’s much-loved community centres and halls will be brimming with local artwork too.
Reynella Neighbourhood Centre Creatives are holding an Our Creative Community: Inspiration and Connection exhibition at the centre, exploring the connection between each other and the community through textiles and mixed media for the entire month.
Over at the Maslin Beach Community Hall, artists from the local community – including painters, sculptors, ceramicists and more – will be on display from 17–25 August.
Looking for more local exhibitions to catch in Onkaparinga during SALA? Head to the SALA Festival’s interactive map, which includes dozens of other events in the region (many of which have been supported by the City of Onkaparinga with a SALA Artist Registration Fee Subsidy). Check out the Onkaparinga Arts Facebook or Instagram pages for more details.