OUR MOB Aboriginal Art Exhibition Returns as Part of Winter 2021 at Adelaide Festival Centre
Expressions of interest are now open to artists wishing to present their work in OUR MOB and its youth equivalent, OUR YOUNG MOB.
By: Stephi Wild May. 28, 2021
Prestigious annual exhibition of South Australian Aboriginal art OUR MOB will return from August 6 to September 24 as part of Adelaide Festival Centre's Winter 2021 season.
Expressions of interest are now open to artists wishing to present their work in OUR MOB and its youth equivalent, OUR YOUNG MOB. This year's awards include the new $2000 Trevor Nickolls Art Prize and the renowned $5000 Don Dunstan Foundation OUR MOB Emerging Artist Prize.
Since 2006, OUR MOB: Art by South Australian Aboriginal Artists has provided a platform for contemporary First Nations artists to share their stories, ideas and art with audiences. Presented by Adelaide Festival Centre, the annual exhibition showcases the diversity and depth of works created by First Nations artists across South Australia.
Adelaide Festival Centre Senior Exhibitions Curator Charissa Davies: "After last year's digital showcase reflecting on works from previous exhibitions, we're very excited to bring OUR MOB back to Adelaide Festival Centre in 2021. We can't wait to see what artists have been creating during the past two years, and we look forward to celebrating the power of Aboriginal art and culture."
Complementing OUR MOB in 2021 are two new events in the Dunstan Playhouse on August 7 - OUR WORDS and OUR STORIES.
OUR WORDS will feature a series of live panels from First Nations writers as they discuss a wide range of topics including what it means to be a First Nations voice within the Australian literary landscape.
First Nations storytellers will keep OUR STORIES audiences spellbound as they share their culture in an immersive campfire-style setting. An illustration workshop with illustrator, designer and proud Yorta Yorta woman Karen Briggs will follow the performance.
OUR WORDS and OUR STORIES Creative Producer Celia Coulthard: "For thousands of years, the First Nations People of Australia have travelled great distances to gather and share knowledge. These exciting new live events will provide opportunities to reconnect communities and celebrate the ongoing achievements of our writers, poets and storytellers."
Winter 2021 at Adelaide Festival Centre also has plenty to offer in June and July. To mark National Reconciliation Week, gifted singer-songwriter and Ngaanyatjarra woman Vonda Last will perform Grandmothers Songs - a special collection of original songs accompanied by Julian Ferraretto and Pocket String Quartet in the Quartet Bar on June 2.
From the catwalks of Paris to the office boardroom, South Australian choreographer and performer Erin Fowler will bring her compelling work FEMME to the Space Theatre from June 3-5. An Adelaide Festival Centre inSPACE Presentation, FEMME is a deeply personal work exploring the stereotypes of femininity through movement, dance, sound and text.
South Australia's most loved winter event, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, is back from June 11 to 26 and will turn the spotlight on Australia's best, brightest and boldest performers.
Highlights of Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2021 include performances by new Artistic Director Alan Cumming, who is bringing his latest show, Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age, to the festival in a world premiere. Former Artistic Director Eddie Perfect will also perform, along with headliner show Songs of Don - a celebration of the work of legendary Australian songwriter Don Walker, best known as the main songwriter for Cold Chisel.
In a special Adelaide Cabaret Festival concert, Australia's next generation of First Nations artists will perform in Deadly Hearts, with an incredible line-up including multi-award-winning musician and artist, Dan Sultan; 2019 National Indigenous Music Awards nominee, Tia Gostelow; 2020 Music Vic award winner for Best Emerging Artist, Kee'ahn; and 2019 Triple J Unearthed High Indigenous Initiative winner, Aodhan.
The following month, Adelaide Guitar Festival will bring together some of Australia's best guitarists in a thrilling mix of local talent and visiting musicians for its first-ever annual event, from July 4 to 25. The line-up includes chart-topping blues & roots musician Ash Grunwald, international cabaret star Carla Lippis, trailblazing classical ensemble Melbourne Guitar Quartet and acclaimed folk duo Hussy Hicks.
Adelaide Guitar Festival is also showcasing some of South Australia's most respected bassists with The Lowdown - a celebration of the bass guitar across funk, jazz, rock, experimental and country. Dennis Kipridis will lead the concert with fellow bass guitarists Flik Freeman, Damien Steele Scott, Nick Sinclair and Ross McHenry, along with double bassist Lucinda Peters.
Adelaide Festival Centre's Music @ The Maj series continues with a one-night-only concert by beloved singer, storyteller and First Nations leader Archie Roach AM at Her Majesty's Theatre on July 16.
Roach's rescheduled national tour celebrates his critically successful memoir Tell Me Why and the companion album of the same name, as well as the belated 30-year anniversary of Roach's seminal album Charcoal Lane, released in 1990 to critical acclaim. He reunites on stage with pianist/composer and Musical Director Paul Grabowsky, along with special guest vocalist Sally Dastey (Tiddas).
In addition to OUR MOB, other free visual art events at Adelaide Festival Centre in Winter 2021 include The Ern Malley Affair Exhibition, part of Adelaide Cabaret Festival and on display in the Space Theatre Foyer from June 11 to July 2, and New Light, a showcase of experimental and diverse moving image works by contemporary First Nations artists on the Festival Theatre media screens from July 16 to August 1.
The inSPACE Creative Development Program continues in winter, with Adelaide Festival Centre supporting a range of independent South Australian artists across various art forms with rehearsals and showings of their work.
Choreographer/director Lewis Major is developing an interactive contemporary dance piece, LIEN, while Rita Bush and Cayleigh Davies will present the quirky and soulful RETRIEVE YOUR JEANS. For THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID by Company AT, autistic and deaf artists will collaborate through spoken word and Auslan shadow interpretation to tell a powerful story of lives intersecting.
For more information about these and other events during Adelaide Festival Centre's Winter 2021 season, check out www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/season-2021.
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