ADELAIDE.- The 28th South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival starts today, kicking off a month-long statewide celebration of visual art with over 11,000 artists exhibiting in more than 700 exhibitions. The festival shines a spotlight on the extraordinary depth, diversity, and creativity of South Australia’s visual arts community.

Open to all and proudly community led SALA stands alone as the country’s largest open access and inclusive visual arts festival. From 1 – 31 August SALA will transform South Australia into a living gallery presenting the work of emerging creatives, mid-career makers and acclaimed visual artists across metropolitan Adelaide and far-reaching regional towns, from outback halls and coastal cafes to suburban studios and CBD shop fronts. No other visual arts festival in the country matches SALA’s scale, heart or reach.

SALA CEO Bridget Alfred said “This year we have the phenomenal number of 11,653 artists participating in the Festival. Each year there are subtle differences in the shape of the Festival and this year, we have noticed what feels like a surge of confidence, and intentionality. We’re seeing artists participating in multiple events, hosting opening studios, pulling together strong collective exhibitions and the return of extraordinary artists to the Festival. We’re seeing a rise in venue participation and metropolitan and regional councils getting behind their communities and supporting events and exhibitions. School participation is on the rise. In short, we are seeing South Australian artists and communities take ownership of this Festival.

We have expanded our SALA Hub events, regional and metro tours, created more opportunities for all South Australians, artists and audiences to come together, to discover, make connections and enjoy the enormous fun of trying something new and we have South Australian artists leading every single one of these events.

Explore the entire program, come to events, go to exhibitions and support venues and artists in any way you can.

SALA Festival 2025 is a testament to South Australia’s creative and actively inclusive community. This is a festival for everyone, so get busy this August and enjoy!”

Highlights for this year include:

The SALA Hub at ILA Light Square which is hosting two SALA exhibitions and is a great place to enjoy a meal or meet friends for a drink before viewing or attending any SALA events on site:-

Exhibitions:

‘Nature: A SALA Roving Exhibition’ will be at the Light Room Bar and features the work of four artists inspired by the natural world, working across printmaking, moving image, painting, ceramics and textiles, celebrating moments of connection to the creatures, plants and landscapes we see every day. In partnership with ILA, 1 – 31 August.

‘Coffee, Turps & Devotion’ brings together two incredible artists who have shared their lives and studio building for almost two decades, both working directly from life, inspired by surrounding scenes and objects, Robert Hannaford and Alison Mitchell Hannaford’s creative output is, nevertheless, distinctly different. This exhibition brings together their recent drawings, paintings and sculpture at The Light Room Gallery at ILA, presented by Hill Smith Art Advisory, 14 – 31 August.

Workshops – ‘It Takes Two’ workshop with Dan Withey on 21 August, a guaranteed night of fun and creativity; bring a friend, a date or loved one for some creative drawing manoeuvre’s.

‘Stranded Colourwork Knitting Workshop’ on 23 August with artist Makeda Duong. Makeda will bring more colours into your knitting in this creative workshop.

SALA ‘Artists & Galleries networking event’ on 12 August is where artist and gallery representatives can meet each other in a relaxed setting. This is a chance for artists to enquire about opportunities, callouts, programs, workshops, studios spaces or perhaps put a face to a name.

SALA ‘Slide Night’ returns on 14 August, discover what’s on the minds of our South Australian contemporary artists, the event will be hosted by Christina Peek and will feature artists Dameeli Coates, Brenton Drechsler, Toni Hassan, Mark Valenzuela, Frida Las Vegas, Jeffrey Brown, Alyssa Powell-Ascura, Jo Fife, Swapna Namboodiri.

Bus Tours - The SALA Hub is also the departure point for the popular SALA ‘Bus Tours'.

‘The Karoonda Silos Bus Tour’ will take to the hills and beyond with exclusive artist talks and lunch at Ondeen Farm and culminates in dinner under the stars at the Karoonda Lights opening event, 9 August.

‘The Barossa Light Art Tour’ will visit Lyndoch Lavendar Farm, the arts of Angaston and Tanunda and delights of Seppeltsfield JamFactory and Wonderground, with local artist talks, platters and tastings all part of the tour, 30 August.

Self Guided Tours – prefer to explore at your own pace? Discover a range of self-guided regional art trails through the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Encounter Bay, McLaren Vale, the Limestone Coast and Yorke Peninsula. Just scan the QR code in the program for more details.

Walking Tours - this year’s walking tours include the ‘Street Art Walking Tour’ with artist Nicole Black on 10 August and the ‘Local & Contemporary Art Tour’ led by artist Gregory Ackland on 16 August. On 23 August Tom Borgas will lead the ‘Listening (to) Architecture Tour’ through the CBD and also in the city Farahnaz Ghofrani will lead a walking tour guided in Persian, you can also sketch your way across the city on the ‘Sketchy Walking Tour’ led by artist Fran Callen. On 7 and 23 August experience ‘Fire Talks’, a critical response yarning circle, this model is used to generate audience reflection and connection to art.

Open Studios Weekend - on the weekend of 16 & 17 August discover the creative process firsthand as artists from across the state invite you into their working studios for an intimate glimpse into their practice. From group to home studios, this weekend features a host of different spaces and artists for you to visit. There are additional openings held throughout the festival, see the SALA program for more details.

SALA’s featured artist is Sue Kneebone and her work appears on the cover of the SALA program. Sue is a multidisciplinary visual artist with a career spanning more than twenty years. Informed by deep research, Sue fearlessly tackles disquieting subject matters, asking viewers to confront the troubling aspects of Australia’s colonial history that still haunt us. Characterised by a distinctively Australian gothic aesthetic, her often-wry work emerges from a creative practice that encompasses assemblage and montage. Sue’s new exhibition ‘The Last Tide Waiter’ is at Adelaide Central Gallery from 29 July - 5 September, the culmination of years of historical research and artistic creation. Exploring the life and circumstances of a 19th century ancestor working as a tide waiter on the island of Mauritius. Sue’s work ‘Flight of Souls’ and ‘Skullthuggery’ will be projected onto a wall in ‘SALA in Lights’ in King William Street in the city from 1-17 August and Sue will also have selected works on display at the Art Gallery of South Australia in ‘Way Too Wild’ from 1 – 31 August.

SALA Forums – ‘Unnatural Causes’ Sue Kneebone is the subject of this year’s Monograph and will be part of this forum at Adelaide Central School of Art on 16 August. Sue will be joined by the writers of her new monograph, Elle Freak, James Tylor, Andrew Purvis and Nicole Clift. Sue’s exhibition will also be open for viewing at Adelaide Central Gallery.

The SALA Forum ‘Arts in Health – The Gut Feelings Project’, will explore how the health of our gut and the health of our environment are deeply interconnected, influencing not only our physical wellbeing but also our mental health. Artist Jake Holmes is collaborating with the Dietetics Unit, with Flinders University College of Nursing and Health Sciences and Flinders University College of Science and Engineering to illuminate these connections. 22 August.

SALA’s Project Artists include Romany Mollison and Charlotte Tatton who’s artwork features on this year’s SALA Skoda cars generously provided by Jarvis Skoda and Visualcom. The vehicles are wrapped in striking artworks turning everyday transport into mobile galleries.

Next time you shop don’t forget to pick up a SALA tote bag at your nearest Foodland around the state, this year’s bags feature stunning artwork by artists Caitlyn Davies-Plummer / Dustin-Koa Art, Katrina Linn and Christopher Meadows.