Ramsay Art Prize finalists announced

Twenty-seven finalists have been selected from more than 300 artists who submitted entries for the fourth iteration of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize.

Presented by the Art Gallery of SA, the biennial acquisitive prize is open to contemporary Australian artists aged under 40, with this year’s shortlist including four South Australians: Zaachariaha Fielding, Sundari Carmody, Ida Sophia and Alfred Lowe.

“The Ramsay Art Prize offers a career-defining moment for artists under 40 and has become an important platform within the visual art landscape in Australia,” AGSA director Rhana Devenport says in a statement. “Thanks to the generosity of the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation, we are thrilled to offer one of the nation’s most generous art prizes to celebrate the energy and dynamism of artistic practice in Australia right now.”

Alfred Lowe’s Crossing The Lines, 2022, Adelaide, underglaze on buff raku trackyte clay; courtesy the artist and APY Art Centre Collective.

The winner will be announced on May 26, on the eve of the opening of an exhibition of all finalists’ works at AGSA.  It will also be acquired into the gallery’s collection, alongside works by previous winners Sarah Contos, Vincent Namatjira and Kate Bohunnis.

The full list of 2023 Ramsay Art Prize finalists is: Abdul Abdullah, Carla Adams, Badra Aji, Tom Blake, Yuriyal Eric Bridgeman, Emma Buswell, Jacobus Capone, Sundari Carmody, Ida Sophia, Corban Clause Williams, Henry Curchod, Sarah Drinan, Zaachariaha Fielding, Aidan Gageler, Olive Gill-Hille, Pascale Giorgi, Nadia Hernández, Alana Hunt, Alfred Lowe, Gian Manik, Daniel McKewen, Amy Perejuan-Capone, Alison Puruntatameri, JD Reforma, Teho Ropeyarn, Yasmin Smith and Katie West.

Artist callout for $20,000 commission

Allison Chhorn, Skin Shade Night Day (2022), exhibition view, ACE. Photo: Grant Hancock

Applications have opened for the 2024 Porter Street Commission, which will see the successful artist awarded $20,000 to produce an ambitious new work that will be presented in a solo exhibition at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental.

South Australian artists at any stage of their career are invited to apply for the award, with previous recipients including Allison Chhorn, who presented her immersive installation Skin Shade Night Day at ACE last year, and Kaspar Schmidt Mumm, whose 2023 Porter Street Commission ROCKAMORA will open at the gallery on June 10.

Applications for the 2024 commission will be considered by a selection panel comprising Clothilde Bullen (curator and head of Indigenous programs at the Art Gallery of Western Australia), Rayleen Forester (associate curator at ACE), and Billy Tang (executive director and curator at Para Site contemporary art centre in Hong Kong).

An artist fee of $3000 will be provided by ACE in addition to the $20,000, with applications open until June 16 (details here).

Bringing the past into the present

Nelya Valamanesh with items from Troy-Anthony Baylis’s Kylie Minogue collection in one of the SA History Festival’s 2023 program cover images.

“Wonder” is the theme of the 2023 South Australia History Festival, which has just launched a program of more than 520 events planned across the state throughout the month of May.

“There are events for all interest groups ­– look out for art installations, poetry evenings, eccentric plays, lively performances, and guided or independent tours,” says Paul Rees, the History Trust’s head of museums, marketing and major events. “And there’s talks and debates – often in new and unusual spaces.”

This year’s events have been divided into five “focus programs” or sub-categories: Rainbow History; Children and Family; First Nations; From Many Places, and Open Doors.

Five different cover images have also been created for the festival program. They feature artefacts and objects from various collections photographed alongside South Australians who have a strong connection to them, with the aim of evoking a sense of wonder.

One of the photos sees local filmmaker, DJ and Kylie Minogue fan Nelya Valamanesh posing with paraphernalia related to the pop star that was collected by SA artist and self-identified “KylieMinologist” Troy-Anthony Baylis. “I adore Kylie and what she puts out into the world,” Baylis says. “Collating culture and creating culture are a safe space to carry out my archival tendencies.”

Cab Fringe time

Adelaide Cabaret Fringe has unveiled an eclectic collection of more than 30 shows for its 2023 program – ranging from a Tim Burton Burlesque Tribute to A Clown Cabaret led by performer Hew Parham and an Elton John tribute concert that invites audiences to go Trippin’ with the Rocket Man.

The festival will run across a range of venues from May 26 to June 4, kicking off with the annual CabFringe Gala on May 19 at The Piccadilly in North Adelaide. The Lounge @ The Piccadilly will serve as an artist-style bar and speakeasy throughout the festival, with nightly cabaret entertainment.

An event that’s especially piqued our interest is Come ’n’ Flash Your Acapella, presented by local acapella group Allegra at the Cynthia Poulton Hall at St Peter’s Cathedral, where participants will learn three songs that they will then sing in a pop-up choir / “flash-sing” performance in four different places surrounding the venue.

See the full program online to choose your own cabaret adventure.

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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