Adelaide Festival of Arts
Encyclopedia
Arts festival
An arts festival is a festival that focuses on the visual arts in all its forms, but which may also focus on or include other arts.Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions and are not to be confused with the commercial art fair. Artists participate in the most important of such festival...
held biennially in the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n capital of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually quite a modest affair.
Begun in 1960, the Adelaide Festival is held in the autumnal month of March of every even-numbered year. It is actually made up of several events, but overall features include opera, theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, and new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
.
The festival is based in the city centre, principally in venues along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace
North Terrace, Adelaide
North Terrace is one of the four terraces that bound the central business and residential district of the city of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It runs east-west, along the northern edge of the CBD.-North Side of North Terrace:...
, but also elsewhere in the city and its parklands
Adelaide Park Lands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the parks that surround the centre of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. They measure approximately 7.6 square kilometres in a green belt encircling the city centre....
. The Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Festival Centre
The Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre, was built in 1973 and opened three months before the Sydney Opera House. The Festival Centre is located approximately 50 metres north of the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, lying near the banks of the River...
and River Torrens
River Torrens
The River Torrens is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains and was one of the reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Adelaide Hills near Mount Pleasant, across the Adelaide Plains, past the city centre and empties...
usually form the nucleus of the event, and in recent years Elder Park
Elder Park, Adelaide
Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace....
has played host to opening ceremonies. The success of the event is sometimes attributed to the city's unique design (known as Light's Vision
Light's Vision
The first surveyor-general of Adelaide, South Australia, Colonel William Light designed a layout and development programme for the city. This plan is now known as "Light's Vision"...
) which provides many pleasant settings within short distance of each other.
In February 2010 the South Australian state government announced that funding would be provided to allow the Festival to be presented annually from 2012.
History
The Adelaide Festival finds its origins in efforts by Sir Lloyd Dumas in the late 1950s to establish a major arts festival that would bring to South Australia world-class cultural exhibitions. In 1958, Sir Lloyd organised a gathering of prominent members of the Adelaidean business, arts and government community to gain support for such a festival. The proposal for an event similar to the Edinburgh International FestivalEdinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
was supported and members of the group formed the first Festival Board of Governors.
The event began to take form when Sir Lloyd partnered with John Bishop, Professor of Music at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
. The two gained the support of the Lord-Mayor and Adelaide City Council
City of Adelaide
The City of Adelaide is a local government area in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. It covers the original Adelaide city centre settlement, , North Adelaide, and the Adelaide Park Lands which surround North Adelaide and the city centre.Established in 1840, the organisation now...
and a financial backing of 15,000 pounds. A number of leading businesses sponsored the first festival including The Advertiser
The Advertiser (Australia)
The Advertiser is a daily tabloid-format newspaper published in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. First published as a broadsheet named "The South Australian Advertiser" on 12 July 1858, it is currently printed daily from Monday to Saturday. A Sunday edition exists under the name of the Sunday...
, the Bank of Adelaide
Bank of Adelaide
The Bank of Adelaide was founded in 1865 in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was incorporated by an act of the Parliament of South Australia. It was taken over in 1979 by ANZ, and merged into that organisation, after bailing out a subsidiary finance company that had lent too much to...
, John Martin & Co.
John Martin & Co.
John Martin & Co. Ltd, colloquially known as John Martin's or simply Johnnies, was an Adelaide-based company which ran a popular chain of department stores in South Australia. It operated for more than 130 years, from 1866 until its closure in 1998...
, the Adelaide Steamship Company
Adelaide Steamship Company
The Adelaide Steamship Company was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods between Adelaide and Melbourne and profit from the need for an efficient and comfortable passenger service...
, and Kelvinator
Kelvinator
Kelvinator is an appliance brand. It takes its name from William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who developed the concept of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named...
.
The inaugural Adelaide Festival of Arts ran from 12–26 March 1960 and was directed by Professor Bishop with some assistance from Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (impresario)
Sir Ian Bruce Hope Hunter was a British impresario of classical music. Known as ‘Mr. Festival’ to many in the arts world, Hunter was one of the most important figures in a post-World War II cultural renaissance in the United Kingdom...
, the Artistic Director of the Edinburgh Festival. There were 105 shows covering almost all aspects of the arts.
The Adelaide Festival continued to grow in successive years with the support of the South Australian Government
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
. It has developed a number of incorporated events including Adelaide Writers' Week
Adelaide Writers' Week
Adelaide Writers' Week, held in the capital of South Australia and considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, is a traditional part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts fortnight where attendees meet and discuss literature with Australian and international writers in "Meet the Author"...
, the world's largest literary festival; WOMADelaide
WOMADelaide
WOMADelaide is an annual world music and dance festival, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia as part of the WOMAD series of music festivals. WOMAD events are a showcase of different sorts of music, arts and dance. They encourage people to experience the music of...
, an iconic world music festival; and, the Adelaide Festival of Ideas
Adelaide Festival of Ideas
The Adelaide Festival of Ideas has been held every two years since 1999 over a period of three or four days in October at venues throughout Adelaide in the alternate year to the long-established Adelaide Festival of Arts....
, an internationally renowned talkfest. It also spawned the Adelaide Fringe Festival
Adelaide Fringe Festival
The Adelaide Fringe Festival is an arts festival held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The event is the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts event and the second-largest fringe festival in the world, second in size only to the Edinburgh Fringe...
which has become the largest event of its kind in the world after the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
. The Adelaide Festival of Arts is seen as a template for other arts festivals, and it has been replicated to some extent by other Australian cities.
Directors
Anthony Steel (Arts Leader)
-Career:Steel was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and started his career in the arts in the early 1960s as general manager of the London Mozart Players...
holds the record for most stints as director, being at the head of 5 festivals. There were no directors for the festivals of 1966 and 1968, with an advisory board taking on the responsibility. Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
' brief directorship in 2001 before being replaced by Sue Nattrass remains the most controversial.
| Year | Director |
|---|---|
| 1960 | John Bishop |
| 1962 | John Bishop |
| 1964 | John Bishop |
| 1966 | Advisory Board |
| 1968 | Advisory Board |
| 1970 | Sir Robert Helpmann Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Helpmann CBE was an Australian dancer, actor, theatre director and choreographer.-Early years:He was born Robert Murray Helpman in Mount Gambier, South Australia and also boarded at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. From childhood, Helpman had a strong desire to be a dancer... |
| 1972 | Louis van Eyssen |
| 1974 | Anthony Steel Anthony Steel (Arts Leader) -Career:Steel was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and started his career in the arts in the early 1960s as general manager of the London Mozart Players... |
| 1976 | Anthony Steel Anthony Steel (Arts Leader) -Career:Steel was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and started his career in the arts in the early 1960s as general manager of the London Mozart Players... |
| 1978 | Anthony Steel Anthony Steel (Arts Leader) -Career:Steel was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and started his career in the arts in the early 1960s as general manager of the London Mozart Players... |
| 1980 | Christopher Hunt Christopher Hunt Christopher Hunt was an Exeter bookseller and stationer.-Life:He was the son of Walter Hunt, a cordwainer of Blandford in Dorset. On 12 January 1585 he apprenticed himself to Thomas Man, a London stationer for a period of eight years, beginning the previous Christmas day... |
| 1982 | Jim Sharman Jim Sharman James "Jim" Sharman , the son of boxing tent entrepreneur Jimmy Sharman, is a director and writer for film and stage with over 70 productions to his credit... |
| 1984 | Elijah Moshinsky (resigned)/Anthony Steel Anthony Steel (Arts Leader) -Career:Steel was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and started his career in the arts in the early 1960s as general manager of the London Mozart Players... |
| 1986 | Anthony Steel Anthony Steel (Arts Leader) -Career:Steel was educated at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and started his career in the arts in the early 1960s as general manager of the London Mozart Players... |
| 1988 | George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, KBE AM , styled The Hon. George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was the elder son of the 6th Earl of Harewood , and Princess Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and... |
| 1990 | Clifford Hocking |
| 1992 | Rob Brookman |
| 1994 | Christopher Hunt Christopher Hunt Christopher Hunt was an Exeter bookseller and stationer.-Life:He was the son of Walter Hunt, a cordwainer of Blandford in Dorset. On 12 January 1585 he apprenticed himself to Thomas Man, a London stationer for a period of eight years, beginning the previous Christmas day... |
| 1996 | Barrie Kosky Barrie Kosky Barrie KoskyBarrie Kosky's name is sometimes misspelled as Barry Kosky, Barrie Koski, Barrie Koskie. is an Australian theatre and opera director.Kosky also plays the piano, as he did in his production of Monteverdi's Poppea... |
| 1998 | Robyn Archer Robyn Archer Robyn Archer AO CdOAL is an Australian singer, writer, stage and director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally.-Life:Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia... |
| 2000 | Robyn Archer Robyn Archer Robyn Archer AO CdOAL is an Australian singer, writer, stage and director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally.-Life:Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia... |
| 2002 | Peter Sellars Peter Sellars Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays... (resigned)/Sue Nattrass |
| 2004 | Stephen Page Stephen Page Born in Brisbane in 1965, Stephen Page is a descendant from the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh tribe from southeast Queensland... |
| 2006 | Brett Sheehy |
| 2008 | Brett Sheehy |
| 2010 | Paul Grabowsky Paul Grabowsky -Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums... |
| 2012 | Paul Grabowsky Paul Grabowsky -Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums... |
Events
- Adelaide Writers' WeekAdelaide Writers' WeekAdelaide Writers' Week, held in the capital of South Australia and considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, is a traditional part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts fortnight where attendees meet and discuss literature with Australian and international writers in "Meet the Author"...
- the world's largest literary festival.
- Artist's Week
- Universal Playground
- WOMADelaideWOMADelaideWOMADelaide is an annual world music and dance festival, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia as part of the WOMAD series of music festivals. WOMAD events are a showcase of different sorts of music, arts and dance. They encourage people to experience the music of...
- held annually.
- Adelaide Festival of IdeasAdelaide Festival of IdeasThe Adelaide Festival of Ideas has been held every two years since 1999 over a period of three or four days in October at venues throughout Adelaide in the alternate year to the long-established Adelaide Festival of Arts....
- a sister event.