Guitar Festival line-up

A special concert celebrating the music of Jeff Beck and performances by international guest musicians from the US, Spain, France and Korea are among highlights of the 2023 Adelaide Guitar Festival program launched today.

Artistic director Slava Grigoryan says it is the first time since 2018 that the festival (July 1-16) is back with a full international program. He adds that the 2023 line-up features “wonderful music makers who are at the forefront of their craft and based right here in Adelaide, as well as celebrating pioneers and legends from across the globe”.

Artists include Grammy-nominated American indie-folk duo The Milk Carton Kids, who will play a one-off gig at Her Majesty’s Theatre, and young French guitarist Antoine Boyer, who will perform with Korean harmonica player and multi- instrumentalist Yeore Kim in a show said to traverse “jazz to gypsy, rock to classical and beyond”. Sounds of Spain will showcase the talents of classical guitarist Andrea González Caballero, followed by a performance by five contemporary flamenco dancers and four musicians from Seville.

ARIA-winning Australian oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros will present a solo performance in a double bill with 2022 Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition winner Connor Whyte, while The Music of Jeff Beck is a tribute to the guitar legend by artists including Paul Mason, James Muller, Antoine Boyer, Jeremy Sawkins and Carla Lippis (who, coincidentally, is launching her debut album MONDO PSYCHO next month).

For the first time, the Guitar Fest line-up includes a death metal band, Adelaide’s Freedom of Fear, described by a Triple J announcer as “one of the best-kept secrets of Australia’s metal underground”.

The festival program, now online, also includes masterclasses, a guitar expo, and a series of artist talks.

Arts vision for the inner-east

Balance, by Janine Dello, was exhibited in The Colonist during the Art on the Parade event in Norwood. Photo: John Neiddu Photography

Local artists, cultural organisations and anyone else with an interest in the sector is invited to have their say on a three-year arts and culture plan currently being developed by the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.

Mayor Robert Bria says the city already has a strong track record when it comes to supporting emerging and established artists, and the new 2024-27 plan aims to bolster this role and help it to attract new audiences.

“Whether it’s visual art, performing art, literary art, temporary and permanent public art, moving image and community art, we want to continue to build on the council’s excellent reputation of delivering a diverse and superior-quality program of events, activations and exhibitions.”

Consultation closes on June 6. You can find out more and complete an online survey here, or attend an “Ideas Café” at an event at the Banquet Hall, St Peters Town Hall Complex, 101 Payneham Road, St Peters, on May 27 from 2.30pm-4.30pm.

Uncertain Times

Catherine Truman, West Path Conifer Horizontals.

It’s impossible not to be intrigued by a project that promises South Australian artists “playing with fire, illusion, inter-species empathy and altered landscapes”.

A Partnership for Uncertain Times is the result a collaboration between UniSA and ANAT (Australian Network for Art and Technology) which saw four local artists – Brad Darkson, Deirdre Feeney, Niki Sperou and Catherine Truman – commissioned to research and develop innovative and experimental artworks engaging with science and technology. The project emphasis, according to the presenters, is on “courageous experimental development over ‘perfecting’ finished artworks”.

The artists will show their work in an exhibition at Newmarch Gallery from June 16 to July 15. In the lead-up, they will discuss their artistic processes and other topics at an online forum titled Uncertainty Across Expanded Fields of Practice #2, to be hosted by Writers SA CEO Jessica Alice from 12.30pm-2pm on May 19. The forum (tickets here) is open to artists and researchers at any stage of practice.

InReview First Nations mentorship opportunity

The application deadline has been extended for the inaugural InReview First Nations mentorship program being offered in partnership with Arts South Australia.

A ground-breaking initiative that will connect experienced First Nations arts writers with emerging voices, the program will support mentees to develop their arts writing and criticism skills while building a portfolio of professional, published work. Each mentorship is a paid opportunity that takes place over 10 weeks.

Applications are now open until Friday, May 19. If you are a First Nations creative with ambitions to be an arts reviewer, or you know someone who may be interested, you can find the full details here.

Flinders Ranges residency

Grindell’s Hut, in the Vulkathunha – Gammon Ranges National Park. Photo: Greg Carosi

Imagine spending three weeks immersed in your artistic practice in an outback environment rich in natural beauty and cultural significance.

Country Arts SA’s Grindell’s Hut residency offers an annual opportunity for an artist to stay at the hut in the heart of the Vulkathunha – Gammon Ranges National Park, part of the traditional Country of the Adnyamathanha people in the Northern Flinders Ranges. It is open to artists from all disciplines from anywhere in Australia.

“For artists, having time on Adnyamathanha Country to immerse themselves in their practice is a rare and valuable opportunity,” says Country Arts SA chief executive Anthony Peluso. “For nearly two decades, Grindell’s Hut has been an important life-changing residency for artists as they immerse themselves in the exceptional environment, and escape from the daily noise and rush of everyday life.”

The 2022 artist-in-residence, Benedict Sibley of Victoria, described it as “a real choose-your-own adventure story with immense scope for possibilities”.

Expressions of interest must be submitted before 5pm on June 12 (full details here), with the residency to take place from October 8-29.

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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