Botanic Garden to showcase the art of glass

A selection of large-scale sculptures and installations by renowned American glass artist Dale Chihuly will be presented in a free outdoor exhibition at the Adelaide Botanic Garden from September next year.

Seattle-based Chihuly is known for his brightly coloured creations and public projects. The Adelaide display will be part of his Garden Cycle series, which is inspired by his lifelong fascination with glasshouses and has seen him present installations in conservatories and gardens in the US, as well as London’s Kew Gardens and Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.

“I have sought an opportunity to return to Adelaide since 2000, when I first presented work at the JamFactory,” Chihuly said in a statement. “Adelaide Botanic Garden offers so many rich colours and textures – the ideal environment for the placement of my work…”

The collection of sculptures will form an art trail through the gardens and will be on display over seven months from September 27 in what is said to be the first major outdoor exhibition of Chihuly’s work in Australia.

In announcing the exhibition this week, SA Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison described it as a “coup” for South Australia that would be an important driver for national and international tourism.

2023 Guildhouse fellow is a game-changer

Japanese-born South Australian artist and contemporary jeweller Kyoko Hashimoto has been named as the 2023 Guildhouse Fellow.

The 12-month fellowship, presented in partnership with the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation and the Art Gallery of SA, is valued at more than $50,000 and provides funding to help a mid-career visual artist, craftsperson or designer develop a new body of work, with a presentation outcome at AGSA.

Hashimoto describes herself as a “critical designer”, saying: “By attending to the senses, the objects I create reframe and revalue the natural resources of the earth, so that we might imagine a more sensitive and sustainable future.”

She is a former resident artist at JamFactory whose work has been acquired by AGSA and the National Gallery of Victoria. In 2021, she and collaborator Guy Keulemans were named among the top 100 “global game changers in design” by Architectural Digest Italy.

“I am honoured to be selected as the next Guildhouse Fellow with AGSA and I am looking forward to developing a new body of work, exploring capacities of paper-based 2D illustrations and 3D paper-mache objects emergent from place and personal identity… this new direction will attempt to focus on developing a sustainable practice both on the physical body, as well as on the environment,” Hashimoto says.

The fellowship has previously been awarded to Troy-Anthony Baylis (2019), Sera Waters (2020), Liam Fleming (2021) and Tom Phillips. Glass artist Fleming’s Light and Colour exhibition is currently showing at AGSA until December 3, while work by expressionist artist Phillips will be presented at the gallery in 2024.

A new chapter for local writers

The first five recipients have been announced in a new SA Literary Fellowships program that offers professional writers a cash prize and a three-month residency with a desk at the State Library of South Australia to develop new literary works.

The $10,000 First Nations Fellowship was awarded to Karen Wyld, whose published books include the novel Where the Fruit Falls. Wyld (an occasional contributor to InReview) plans to draw on inspiration from South Australian coastal locations and personal memories to develop a collection of short stories, narrative non-fiction and poetry, and will access the State Library’s maritime collection for her research.

The Mid-Career Fellowships, with a cash prize of the same value, went to Walter Marsh, who will work on a narrative non-fiction book as the follow-up to his 2023 debut Young Rupert (an account of Rupert Murdoch’s origin story), and Katerina Bryant, whose manuscript explores women in chess with a particular focus on the first SA woman chess champion, Evelyn Koshnitsky. The two recipients of the Emerging Fellowship, which comes with a cash prize of $3000, are Gemma Parker and Sarah Pearce.

The fellowships are presented by Writers SA and the State Library, and jointly funded by Creative Australia, Arts SA and the Libraries Board of South Australia.

Writers SA CEO Jessica Alice congratulated the inaugural recipients: “We are delighted to offer this fantastic new opportunity, encouraging the original and imaginative use of the library’s spaces and collections to develop their literary works.

“We have no doubt this talented group of writers will produce the next great books from South Australia and build on the tremendous legacy of the state.”

Submissions open for 2024 Adelaide Film Festival

Hot on the heels of its record-breaking 2023 event, Adelaide Film Festival has announced the program dates for next year and is calling for film submissions.

Entries are invited for feature fiction, feature documentary, series (single or multiple episodes), and short films made in Australia and internationally, with deadlines and other information available here. The festival says unsolicited submissions are “a great source for uncovering new talent”, and a number have won the official competition in previous years.

The 2024 Adelaide Film Festival will run from October 23 until November 3.

CEO and creative director Mat Kesting says 2023 was a “massive year” for the festival as it moved to an annual event and welcomed a record number of people attending. “We can’t wait to present the 21^st iteration next year – there are surprises in store!”

It was also announced that Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist Archie Moore has been awarded the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival and Samstag Moving Image Commission.

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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