Exhibitions

From 11 June 2024

The City of Adelaide’s Contemporary Art Collection offers a window into Adelaide’s past, present and future, inviting audiences on a journey of discovery, reflection and inspiration.

Since 2010, the collection has evolved into a vibrant reflection of the city’s dynamic identity, creating and preserving our shared culture and history with over 60 artworks by 40 artists.

The Collection has its origins in 2011 when a shift in Council’s cultural stewardship saw a newly committed approach to the preservation and celebration of Adelaide’s Contemporary artistic heritage. Through deliberate acquisitions and strategic partnerships, the collection has continued to grow as a vibrant testament to the city’s artistic vitality, embracing diverse voices, themes and mediums. Works by 34 artists who are either based in South Australia or connected to the state through work or study will be on display throughout Adelaide Town Hall.

As we grow this collection that celebrates the richness and diversity of Adelaide’s cultural landscape, we recognise the transformative power of art. It not only reflects the world around us but also has the capacity to question, challenge, subvert, imagine and shape the world that lies ahead.

Featuring: Patty Chehade, Jesse Price, Alex Frayne, Brad Darkson, Emmaline Zanelli, James Tylor, Carly Takari Dodd, Christopher Meadows, Hailey Lane, CJ Taylor, Sophia Nuske, James Dodd, Sue Kneebone, Min Wong, Tara Rowhani-Farid, Yusuf Ali Hayat, Kate Little, Lara Tilbrook, Anna Dowling, Louise Flaherty, Seiichi Kobayashi, Jessica Ganev, Lee Walter, Mark Kimber, Monika Morgenstern, Dr Ali Gumillya Baker, Lucia Dohrmann, Caroline Oakley, Teresa Busuttil, Kyle O’Loughlin, Caitlin Bowe, Sonya Rankine, Deborah Paauwe, Thao Le

Assembly: Unveiling the City of Adelaide Contemporary Art Collection 2010–2024 is presented at the Adelaide Town Hall in Mankurri-api Kuu (Reconciliation room) First and Second Floor Gallery.

James Tylor, (Erased Scenes) From an untouched Landscape #13, 2014
Inkjet print on Hahnemühle paper, black velvet
Image courtesy of the artist and N. Smith Gallery

From June 2024

See the fun frenzy and fashion of the weekend BeatleMania hit Adelaide in 1964 to celebrate 60 years since the band’s historic visit to Adelaide.

Memorabilia, newspaper clippings and photography of the record-breaking crowd captured by photographer Vic Grimmett provide an insight into the Beatles visit to Adelaide where the band were met by the biggest crowd of their career when a third of Adelaide’s population turned out. An estimated 300,000 people lined the streets from the Airport to the Adelaide Town Hall where a civic reception was held, ahead of a series of concerts at Wayville’s Centennial Hall on June 12 and 13 1964.

Thanks goes to the Adelaide City Archives and the State Library of South Australia.

Northern Gallery, First Floor, Adelaide Town Hall.

From December 2023

Veale’s Vision commemorates the 60th anniversary of the extensive restoration work undertaken in Adelaide’s South Park Lands, completed in 1963 and named as Veale Gardens in 1964. Through the display of archival images and artefacts, this exhibition articulates the vision of Mr William Charles Douglas Veale CBE, MC, DCM (1895-1971), a soldier, engineer, and City of Adelaide Town Clerk.

This display focuses upon his return from a study tour abroad in 1957 leading to numerous outcomes that revitalised the South Park Lands. His design included formal and sunken gardens, rose beds, water features, a series of recessed grottos, a striking piece of modern art, The Couple, 1962 by Berend van der Struik and a ‘hyperbolic paraboloid’ structure for a restaurant.

This exhibition features a bust of William Veale by acclaimed South Australian artist John Dowie AM (1915-2008), seen publicly for the first time as part of Veale’s Vision, courtesy of the family of William Veale.

Adelaide Town Hall Southern Gallery, Level One