Arts & Culture

We are proud of our rich and creative traditions, practices and aspirations in arts and culture, which reflect, shape and challenge our personal and community identities.

We provide great opportunities for people to engage with and participate in a dynamic and vibrant environment that encourages positive ways of living together.

If you are an artist, performer or community organisation interested in arts and culture in your local community, please contact the Cultural Development Officer, Matthew Ives on 8372 5134 or email mives@unley.sa.gov.au

Jump to

SALA in Unley

Artworks: Trevor and Val. Oil on Arches Paper. Artist: Andrea Malone.

Welcome to 2018 SALA in Unley. We've been going for 12 years!

Discover art in a local gallery, shop, business or studio. Discover emerging artists, established artists, community groups, visual art, sculptures, ceramics, photography, mixed media, and much more.

This year’s South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival runs throughout August, showcasing South Australia's visual artists’ talent and creativity. The SALA Festival celebrates local community and diversity.

Over the past 11 years, SALA in Unley has boasted more venues and artists than any other metropolitan region and continues to maintain its popularity. We want more artists and venues coming on board. Exhibition registrations are now open on the SALA Festival website and close Monday 14 May.

Many of our traders and businesses are seeking to become venues for artists to show their works. For more information please contact Matthew Ives mives@unley.sa.gov.au or any of our local trader associations.

Open all Close all

Artist Registration Subsidy Scheme
The City of Unley has established an artist registration subsidy scheme for artists exhibiting in the City of Unley area. This scheme acknowledges the role that artists and local venues play in the cultural life of the council area.

Subsidies of up to $120 are available to assist individuals and groups with the cost of registering for the SALA Festival.

Subsidies will be provided to artists who are:
- residents of the City of Unley who are exhibiting either in or outside of the Council area, or
- artists exhibiting within the City of Unley.
Subsidies will only be provided for costs associated with registrations for SALA. Multiple applications may be considered. The closing date for applications will be 15 May 2018. Exact allocation of subsidies will be dependent upon the number of applications received.

Applications can be made in writing to:
Matthew Ives, Cultural Development Coordinator
PO Box 1
Unley SA 5061
Or email mives@unley.sa.gov.au with a copy of the SALA registration receipt.

SALA Artists Registration Subsidy Scheme Form
City of Unley Active Ageing Award

This award is for artists over the age of 60 to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the City of Unley’s involvement with SALA and its commitment to promoting and supporting an active ageing approach.

The prize consists of $2,000 cash and an exhibition space in Unley for SALA 2019.

This award is open to any resident of South Australia. For more information, please visit the awards section on the SALA Festival website.

To find out more about our commitment as an Age Friendly City, visit Active Ageing Strategy.
Further Information

If you wish to know any more about this year’s SALA or future opportunities in the arts and culture space, please contact Matthew Ives, Cultural Development Coordinator, 8372 5134 or email mives@unley.sa.gov.au

Discover Historic Goodwood

Discover Historic Goodwood is a free self-guided walking tour app, which will take you on a journey of Goodwood like no other before.

Discover Historic Goodwood will walk you through the strange and intriguing stories of people and buildings past and present along Goodwood Road. Take a leisurely tour to visit 14 stops, listen to stories by local people, view historical photographs and discover the history behind each place.

Earlier this year we asked our community to share their stories of Goodwood with the assistance of Open Space Contemporary Arts and various artists. 10 of these stories are included in the text, photographic and audio tour.

14 pavers entitled Discover Historic Goodwood, manufactured by Smart Artisans, help guide you round the trail.

Open all Close all

Download the App

Go to the App Store on your phone, download izi.TRAVEL, work your way through the introduction and go to 'all guides' at the bottom of the screen to reveal Discover Historic Goodwood.
Historic Walking Trails in Unley

Discover Historic Goodwood is part of an ongoing series of historic walking trails, including Discover Historic Unley which was launched in 2014 and the Unley Road Traders’ Business History Makers in 2016.

More information on these can be found at the Unley Museum at 80 Edmund Avenue, Unley.
Acknowledgements

We say thank you all in our community who participated in this project.

Discover Historic Goodwood is a collaboration between Open Space Contemporary Arts, Alyssa Hill Consulting, Smart Artisans, the vibrant Goodwood community and the City of Unley.

Project management: City of Unley and Open Space Contemporary Arts
Historical content and images: Unley Museum
Story collectors: Emma Beech and Susie Skinner
Sound design: Jason Sweeney
App management: Alyssa Hill Consulting
Streetscape pavers: Smart Artesans

Goodwood Road Streetscape Upgrade Art Projects

Four new public arts projects are on display along Goodwood Road. The projects are part of the 2017 Goodwood Road Streetscape Upgrade. Over 15 artists and numerous community individuals and organisations have contributed to shaping and producing these artworks.

All contributors and creatives worked under the guiding principle that the artworks should reflect the character of the Goodwood Road Precinct by being colourful, accessible, casual, surprising, engaging, welcoming, social and playful/whimsical.

The City of Unley wishes to acknowledge the professional assistance provided by Brecknock Consulting, Groundplay and Jensen Planning and Design throughout this project.

View detailed documentation on all the artworks on our project page.

Photos: Sam Oster/ Silvertrace

Public Arts Strategy

Our Involve Unley Public Arts Strategy seeks to set a new example of how public arts can be conceived, developed, implemented and sustained. The Strategy provides directions for the commissioning of public arts that are creative, relevant and contemporary and also increase awareness, as well as complement the qualities and values of the City of Unley.

Since 2014/15, Involve Unley Public Arts Strategy has created a program of public arts commissioning and support, which stimulates thinking, invites interaction, celebrates diversity, allows for contemplation and even questions our assumptions.

This Strategy includes:

Objectives, principles and types of art that will underpin the delivery of public arts over the next five years
Actions and pilot projects involving different types of public arts
The City of Unley Public Arts Policy

For further information, please contact the Cultural Development Coordinator on 8372 5134 or email mives@unley.sa.gov.au.

Public Arts Strategy

Four Elements Public Art Rejuvenation Project

Four Elements is a public art work on the Unley Village Green by John Davis, created in 1980. The artwork references and celebrates the four elements of earth, wind, water and fire and has been enjoyed by many local residents, families and school children. It has become an iconic piece of public art in Unley. In 2016 it was rejuvenated and re-expressed by Greg Healey, who added additional features to the artwork such as a soundscape that references running water and a visual representation of water made of steel.

Lead Artist: Greg Healey
Collaborators: Sandpit (experiential design firm) and Hugo Mount (stonemason)
Photos: Silvertrace Photography by Samantha Oster

Emerging Art Walls

The Emerging Art Walls project is an ongoing street art initiative which aims to enliven and enhance spaces around the City of Unley and create a strong feeling of identity, community pride and ownership. In 2015, the community were asked to nominate walls or infrastructure suitable for murals .These artworks were completed in late 2016. The themes for the murals range from our role in guarding nature, the relationship between the natural and built worlds and local community members.

Lead Artist: Seb Humphreys
Artists: Buff Dis, Jimmy Dodd, Kab101, Order55, Thom Buchanan, Vans the Omega
Photos and moving images: Sam Roberts and Rumpus Room Studio

Emerging Art Walls has been proudly sponsored by Crowies Paints.

Past Projects & Galleries

Discover arts projects and events recently held in the City of Unley.

Open all Close all

All Connections to Unley Art Prize 2016

All Connections to Unley Art Prize was offered for the first time in 2016. South Australian artists, young people and children were invited to create artworks drawing on their personal connection to the City of Unley. Entries were open to artworks in two dimensional mediums, including painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, collage and new media.

In May 2016, the finalists and winners in each of the categories were presented in an exhibition at the Hughes Gallery, Fullarton Park Community Centre. The finalists were selected by the judging panels to be at the highest level of the entry collective. These artists were selected based on technique, creativity and engagement with the theme of “All Connections to Unley”. Karen Paris has curated this exhibition.

On Friday 6 May at the Hughes Gallery, Mayor Lachlan Clyne presented the prizes to the winners.

Open Category: Peter Barnes

Prize: $5,000

God & Mammon - Inkjet print on Canson Baryta Photographique

Youth Category: Emma

Prize: $1,000 plus mentorship or short course (value $500)

Suburban Fairy-tale - Watercolour

Children Category: Yike

Prize: $500 worth of art making materials

The Purple Unley - Watercolour

People's Choice: Sarah McDonald

The Art School at Sunset, Fullarton Park Centre – Oil on linen

The artworks of the winners in each of the categories have been reproduced on selected public bins across the City of Unley. Now a limited edition sticker set for residents’ blue bins is available to Unley residents. Phone Customer Service on 8372 5111 to get hold of your set.
Interactive Dance Play at Mud Central | April 2016

Mud Central was a large family event held at Ridge Park, Myrtle Bank in April 2016 and attended by approximately 4,000 children and parents. The event aimed to encourage children and their families to connect, be creative and play with nature and in this case, mud! The artists used music, dance and performance to inspire mud play, contemplation and hands-on learning.

Artists: Billie Cook, Cinzia Schincariol, Katerina Stevens
Creative Producer: Billie Cook
Photos: Silvertrace Photography by Samantha Oster
Linger, longer | April 2015

This public arts project was an artistic collaboration between the City of Unley, Dario Vacirca and artists Emma Beech, Erin Fowler, Josephine Were, Maya Sollier and El Pablo from Open Space.

Linger, longer was an investigative and experiential temporary public arts project re-examining our place in space.

It involved installations, theatre, dance and creative engagement to take participants on a shared journey exploring their common spaces.

Linger, longer was part of the first year of exciting and innovative public arts projects linked to Involve Unley – Public Arts Strategy. Linger, longer tested and experimented with temporary public arts to educate, inform, facilitate and collaborate in a new way of engaging with our community through the expression of the arts. Diverse art forms were used to bring our public realm to life.

For more information on this project, please contact Matthew Ives Cultural Development Coordinator mives@unley.sa.gov.au
Found, out | May 2015

Found, out was an investigative and experiential temporary public arts project about re-discovering and re-connecting with our local parks and reserves.

Over two weekends in May 2015 at Soutar Park and Everard Park Reserve, local people came together as artists and explorers with professional artists to work together to imagine, contribute, and slowly transform the park with collective sculptures. Using the medium of clay and found flora from gardens, parks and reserves, people created their own work and placed them in their favourite places!

Artists: Morag Cook, Sarah-Jane Cook and Kim ShanahanCreative
Producer: Morag Cook
Photos and moving images: Ben Searcy
FEAST Festival

Council has hosted FEAST Festival events since 2007. Presently held in November, FEAST is a major event on the festival calendar and is South Australia's largest LGBTIQ curated cultural festival. The event attracts performers from all over the world and visitors from near and far.
Coffee, Tea & Poetry | 2014
Once upon a time, instead of going to the movies or watching TV, people would gather to listen to someone tell a story or recite a poem. This was a custom that celebrated the beauty of the spoken word and engaged the community. The City of Unley brought the oral storytelling tradition back to life by presenting live poetry performances in local Cafés.

In 2014, in the lead up to Double Shot Unley Coffee Fiesta, five local cafes hosted performance poets working in their spaces for around two hours. Writing, reading, performing and chatting - residents were invited to meet, listen to and drink with professional poets.

Participating cafes were:
- By Blackbird Coffee and Dessert Cafe, Shop 4, 100 King William Road, Hyde Park
- Hyde Park Bakery, 1 Mitchell Street, Hyde Park
- Pellegrini Café, 169 Unley Road, Unley
- Lunch Club, Unley Shopping Centre, Unley Road
- Carnevale Coffee 114 East Avenue, Clarence Park
This project is an initiative of The City of Unley’s Where Business Meets Art project in conjunction with Friendly Street Poets and SA Writers Centre.

For all enquiries, please contact Matthew Ives email mives@unley.sa.gov.au or phone 8372 5134.
Footstomping, Fables & Film

Heywood Park was brought alive with Footstomping, Fables and Film. The biggest of the Summer Outdoor Entertainment events included live music from local bands Cold Comfort, The Timbers and Prawnhead, a wonderful Splash Theatre Company performance of Mr Badger: Wind in the Willows, food and beverages provided by Fuji Rolls and Great Relish Organic Coffee and our lovely writer in residence, Lilliana Rose. The afternoon was topped off with the community settling into a Road Movie Mobile Cinema Screening of Disney Pixar animation Brave.