In August, we attended a celebration of Julia Robinson the artist, as well as Julia Robinson, the 2024 SALA Feature Artist monograph, by Leigh Robb, Hannah Kent and Jess Taylor.
We’re pleased now to be able to share Julia’s speech from the evening, sharing her memories of SALA’s humble beginnings, and how the festival helped her realise that pursuing art was a viable career choice.
Read her speech below.
Banner image: Bitter Roseroot (detail), 2018, gourd, silk, thread, pins, braid, brass, gold plating, steel, padding, mixed media, 120 x 80 x 60 cm, collection Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo: Sam Roberts.
I have lived in Adelaide on Kaurna land my whole life, so I would also like to acknowledge the Kaurna people as traditional custodians, and recognise their cultural, spiritual, physical and emotional connection with their land, waters and community.
In 1998, the year that SALA was born, I was in year 12 – still yet to make that leap to art school, let alone even consider the possibility of a career as an artist.
By the time I had completed my Honours degree at Adelaide Central School of Art four years later, SALA, although still in its infancy, was well and truly cemented in my psyche as a prominent festival and a time of peak visibility for artists, allowing us all to become deeply immersed in the visual art culture of the state.
Of course, it was called SALA Week back then, and was a much slimmer operation in terms of numbers compared to today’s festival, but to me it felt vibrant, vital and – in the best way possible – all consuming. SALA was and is the visual embodiment of what art can be when it is allowed to run wild across a whole state – it signified to me as an emerging artist that this could be a viable career – and that others shared this vision. I have grown up alongside SALA as a practitioner and seen the festival expand beyond exhibitions to include slide nights, balls, artist forums, dog tours, prizes and more. It is encouraging to see it continue to evolve.
And so here we are now in 2024 – many thousands of participants later, celebrating South Australian living artists of all different backgrounds and perspectives across hundreds of venues. I want to thank and congratulate the past and current team at SALA on this festival. SALA has always been headed by a small crew that punches well above its weight as it manages increasing numbers of participants every year – we shouldn’t forget how much time and energy this takes or be complacent about what this organisation manages with relatively little. You are small but you are mighty.
As an artist I can relate to the small team mentality. I often feel a bit like a one-woman band having to be project manager, technician, manufacturer, administrator, publicist and maker all in one – it can be overwhelming sometimes, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t also exhilarating and empowering!
And although the life of an artist can be solitary, SALA is one of those times where we step outside of our studios, program in hand, hunting for those gems that we can connect to and taking a chance on something unexpected. The program can be a little daunting so I encourage you to find your own system to navigate it and get out there to support your friends and colleagues as well as artists you are unfamiliar with. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has in turn supported me over many years: my family, studio buddies, peers, curators, gallery teams and my husband Roy.
Roy Ananda of course was the 2021 SALA feature artist, which means that we join a very small group of artist couples who each have publications: Deborah Paauwe and Mark Kimber, and Angela Valamanesh and Hossein Valamanesh. We are in good company and I am very much looking forward to finally popping my book next to Roy’s and carving out some of my own space on the shelf!
I am honoured to be part of the whole publication family alongside so many exceptional South Australian peers and art idols. It is a great privilege to be following the amazing Helen Fuller, last year’s SALA feature artist, and preceding the much-anticipated 2025 recipient. With SALA participants numbering in the thousands each year it is clear there are still so many more wonderful South Australian artists whose work deserves to be celebrated and published, and whose books I would dearly want to get my hands on! Here’s to this program running for many more years to come.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this publication. There is an extensive acknowledgment list in the book but I’d just like to single out a few tonight. Thank you to Michael Bollen and the team at Wakefield Press who spearhead and support this initiative and who so generously allowed me to tailor this monograph to my practice – thank you for the red edges especially – I’m tickled pink!
To Rachel Harris from bitscribbly design who brought this book to life in all its vivid colour – you have been a champion. When I first met with Rachel I told her I really wanted my book to be lush and juicy not white and minimalist – and she basically said, babe, I’ve seen your work. I got this! And she sure did! Thank you.
And not least I want to thank my three wonderful writers – my dear friends Leigh Robb, Hannah Kent and Jess Taylor. You brought such wisdom, dedication, joy and generosity to this project – and your writing makes me weak at the knees. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have had this opportunity – you made this process a sheer delight and I am thrilled to celebrate this achievement with you all.
In closing I want to acknowledge that it takes a certain kind of courage and self-belief to put your artwork and yourself out there – one that is so often tinged with self-doubt – but perhaps that is why SALA festival attracts such great numbers – there is safety and strength in that as well as sense of shared camaraderie. Congratulations to all the artists participating this year and thank you for sharing your work.
