Tarnanthi Art Fair online

After notching up a record $1.4 million worth of sales last year, the Art Gallery of South Australia’s Tarnanthi Art Fair will return as an online-only event from October 14-17.

Paintings, ceramics, sculpture, woven objects, jewellery, textiles, clothes and homewares created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across Australia will be for sale via a digital portal, with this year’s program also including a series of workshops and talks.

Among the latter will be an online discussion on “Buying Art Ethically”, which will explore the importance of the Indigenous Art Code and advice on what questions to ask if you are unsure of an artwork’s provenance.

The Tarnanthi Art Fair was held at the Torrens Parade Ground up until 2020, when COVID challenges saw it presented as a hybrid digital/physical event. When it moved fully online in 2021, it surpassed its previous sales record by 16 per cent as art lovers nationally and internationally bought more than 2500 works of art.

“With such success in 2021, we are thrilled that the Tarnanthi Art Fair will return to reach new audiences around the world and build deeper understanding with those who have enjoyed our Art Fairs since 2015,” says Tarnanthi artistic director Nici Cumpston.

Moon Lantern designs

The 2021 Moon Lantern Trail. Photo: Xplorer Studio

Asian-Australian and First Nations artists and designers are being invited to submit creative concepts for outdoor lanterns and/or lantern installations for the Moon Lantern Trail at next month’s OzAsia Festival.

Festival organisers say the paid opportunity will see the chosen concepts turned into large-scale, three-dimensional lanterns or installations by a workshop team.

“In partnership with OSCA ­– Open Space Contemporary Arts, the OzAsia Festival team will be looking for concepts that explore Asia and Indigenous Australian connections or are inspired by Asian cultures and communities,” says the callout. “Concepts should be welcoming and inclusive, eye-catching, and engaging, interactive, and innovative, and suit the Moon Lantern wireframe and printed fabric lantern style.”

Applications close at 9am on September 12 (details here).

Fantastical Worlds

From the bold and the beautiful to the somewhat bizarre, this exhibition is the result of a joint venture between Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and The David Roche Foundation.

An installation view of Fantastical Worlds, featuring Kate Rohde’s Deer Vase and Animal wallpaper.

Curated by the Powerhouse’s Eva Czernis-Ryl and showing at the David Roche Museum until December 24, Fantastical Worlds was developed around works from four designers and artists – Timothy Horn, Alexander McQueen, Kate Rohde and Timorous Beasties – and features contemporary creations inspired by elaborate European art styles such as Baroque, Rococo and Empire.

The 90 works of art include an evening dress from fashion designer McQueen’s final runway collection, Australian artist Rohde’s large polyurethane Deer Vase (displayed in a room featuring her Animal wallpaper), and Horn’s wall sculpture Gorgonia 15, inspired by a French Baroque earring pattern featuring pearls (another sculpture in this series is currently on display at AGSA alongside works in the Robert Wilson: Moving Portraits exhibition).

For this iteration of Fantastical Worlds, the Powerhouse ceramics, jewellery, silver, textiles and fashion are joined by decorative objects and paintings from the David Roche Foundation collection.

“Fantastical Worlds illustrates the transformative power of design across the centuries; it reawakens one’s desire for pattern and colour, and causes us to contemplate the seemingly bizarre,” says Robert Reason, museum director of The David Roche Foundation.

Callout for ACE studio artists

Three rent-free CBD-based studio spaces are available via a callout for ACE’s 2023 Studio Program.

The 12-month residency also offers professional development support, the opportunity to participate in public programs, and promotional opportunities.

“Working as part of a cohort of fellow artists, the Studio Program gives residents the space to experiment with their practice and grow their professional careers,” ACE says.

ACE is home to five fully-supported studio spaces. Photo: Thomas McCammon

Applications are open to artists at any stage of their career working across all contemporary art forms, and will close on October 11 (full details available here). Successful applicants will get studio space above the Adelaide Contemporary Experimental gallery at Lion Arts Centre from January 2023 to January 2024, and will be able to participate in the annual studio artist exhibition, Studios: 2023.

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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