Digital Barn’s September Gallery Crawl

Once a month Adam and I ditch work and check out all the new exhibitions in the North Terrace museum precinct. This month we hit up the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum, the State Library of South Australia and the Royal South Australian Society of Arts. Here are our highlights for September, along with exhibition dates so you can make sure you don’t miss out.

This month we ticked off 5 exhibitions. We only just managed to catch one of them, as it closed within a few days of our visit.

Stop 1:
Royal South Australian Society of Arts

Kennedy Prize

31 Aug – 15 Sep 2019

We got lucky with this one. While Adam and I were having a coffee out the front of the Institute building an A-frame was brought out advertising an exhibition being shown in the upstairs gallery.

This exhibition had a theme of “beauty”, which was broadly used by the artists. Many of the works were portraits (and some very beautiful portraits at that), but also included some great landscapes and abstracts. My favourite painting was called Exposed by Anne-Marie Zanetti (which you can see on the artist’s Facebook page). The lighting and strokes in this piece were so incredibly detailed that I was admiring it for over ten seconds before I realised it was actually a painting.

Unfortunately we couldn’t get any photos of this exhibition due to the large “no photography” sign, but you’ll have to trust is there were some great works here. We’ve seen the winners and finalists for previous years are listed on the Kennedy Prize website, so keep an eye on there and they may appear soon.

Stop 2:
State Library of South Australia

Photography of an Adelaide Snapper

9 Aug – 27 Oct 2019

This is the space we struggled to get to last month, so it was definitely on the list for September.

Photography of an Adelaide Snapper covers the career of Adelaide photographer Vic Grimmett. Vic’s photography career spanned more than 3 decades, and when you look at his photos as a whole they show some great insights into the history and culture of South Australia. The photos on display cover day to day life, Adelaide milestones, and many pop culture hallmarks. My favourite photo was a shot of DeForest Kelley (AKA Dr Hank McCoy) when he was in Adelaide for the premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

If you’d like to see the photos included in the exhibition check out the digital exhibition, and to see all of Vic’s photos held by the State Library check out their online collection.

Stop 3:
South Australian Museum

Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition 2019

16 Aug – 10 Nov 2019

The AGNPotY (there’s gotta be a better abbreviation) is always a great space. The photos cover a massive spectrum, with animals of all shape and sizes being caught in the strangest and most beautiful poses, mixed in with natural landscapes and environments. I have no idea how these photographers have been able to capture animals in such hidden moments.

The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition is the result of the annual competition that celebrates the natural heritage of the Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea bioregions. Photos fall into a variety of categories, including junior photographers, natural habitat, portraits and human impact.

While you’re there make sure you vote in the People’s Choice competition. Not to swing the vote, but below are the photos we voted for.

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If you want to see the photos from the competition but don’t have time to get into the museum, check them out here. However we still recommend visiting the museum and browsing them as they should be seen.

Stop 4:
Art Gallery of South Australia

No god but God: The art of Islam

From 24 Aug 2019
Before even making our schedule for this month I knew I wanted to come see No god but God. I have always loved Islamic artwork, and find the colours and patterns used simply hypnotising. This collection of artworks from the ninth century to modern times was a dream come true. I especially loved the extra touch of playing Islamic music throughout the exhibition. I had to take a short video just so I could capture it.

Honor Freeman: Ghost Objects

27 Jul – 29 Sep 2019

This collection of porcelain and clay objects were, to be honest, a little bit magical. I’d never heard of the “slip casting” technique before, but the way Freeman used it to capture soap bars and handkerchiefs was facinating. The AGSA website describes it best…

Liquid slip becomes solid, thereby becoming a memory of a past form – a ghost object.

The pieces in the collection all relate to the ideas of ritual, mourning, and loss. If you come to see this exhibition then pay special attention to the bars of soap that run along the walls, and be sure to read Freeman’s description of the work to see how you can measure one’s life through the objects they use.