Participate as an artist

The South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival is a state-wide celebration of visual art made up of exhibitions and events that takes place every August.

All kinds of visual artists are celebrated – young, old, emerging, established, traditional, contemporary – and a range of visual art forms are represented. Painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewellery, glass, moving image, textile, papercraft, printmaking, metalwork, furniture, and more. The Festival is ‘open access’, meaning that it is not curated – anyone can take part if they are a living South Australian visual artist.

Another feature of the Festival is that it activates both traditional art spaces (like galleries), but also non-traditional spaces (such as cafes, pubs, hospitals, shop windows, wineries, and more). This is how the Festival is able to have such great reach – hundreds of exhibitions are independently organised in a variety of spaces, then registered as part of the Festival.

Thinking about taking part?

Registrations are closed for 2023, but you can read on below to get ahead for the 2024 Festival.

days until registrations open

Step 1 - Check your eligibility

Are you South Australian?

The Festival celebrates residents of South Australia.

Are you a visual artist?

EG: painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewellery, glass, furniture.

Film, theatre, and music are generally considered to be outside of the Festival scope.

Solo or group exhibition?

Think about whether you'd like to exhibit on your own or with other artists. It can be easy enough to manage a small display that's just of your work, but it can be nice to share the experience with others too.

Step 2 - Find a venue & get in touch

Ask around

Ask around your networks to see if you already know someone who runs a cafe, works in a library, or similar.

use the Venue Finder

It's like 'the classifieds' for finding a venue.

Artist & Venue Finder

Cold-sell in your area

You can try asking a venue if they'd like to exhibit your artwork during the Festival - a 'local' connection can be of particular interest.

found a space?

Proceed to Step 3

Step 3 - Agree on details & get them in writing

Open Dates

When can the exhibition start and when will it end?

The exhibition only has to be viewable by the public for one day during August to be eligible to be registered in the Festival.

who will do the Admin?

Who will submit the SALA Registration Form via the SALA Online Portal?

(We recommend you do this)

Open Hours

Determine the 'viewing hours' for the exhibition.
eg: 9am-5pm Mon-Fri,
2-4pm every 2nd Sat,
etc. These can be narrower than actual business hours if preferred.

Fee

Who will pay the SALA Registration Fee?

Install

When will you have access to the space to set up the artwork? (specific dates & times) Same for removal of the artwork. Are you expected to patch walls or paint? Communicate & negotiate.

Insurance

Will your artworks be covered against damage while on display in the space? If not, are you ok with that risk?
Do you have public liability insurance in case your artwork falls and hurts someone?

Opening Event

OPTIONAL
You do not have to have an opening night event, but if you would like to, agree on some key details beforehand. Eg staffing, times, set-up, food, drinks, speeches.

Is the artwork for sale?

Will you handle this or will the venue (and do they expect to take a commission on sales)? You can use Shop SALA to facilitate sales yourself.

Shop SALA

Step 4 - Admin

May

submit the registration form by May Deadline

Submit via the Online Portal between
1 March - 10 May 2023.
Ensure that you receive a confirmation email.

Online Portal

check for rebates

Some council areas offer a rebate on SALA Registration fees.

Council Rebates

Apply for the Awards

Optional: The SALA Awards are open to artists taking part in the Festival. Most artwork needs to be recent to eligible. Most awards close 18 May 2023.

More info

Let your friends know!

'If a tree falls in the forest...'

July

SALA Program goes live

The SALA Program will become available in print (booklet form) and online.

Step 5 - Action

receive promo pack

A venue sticker, poster, and printed programs are coming your way (or wherever you nominated to have them sent). Check out your exhibition/event listed in print! Note - avoid changes to these details.

finish making the work

or maybe it is already made, that's ok too.

Install

Install the artwork.

(It sometimes takes longer than anticipated).

enjoy

Enjoy being part of this state-wide celebration of South Australian artists!

let us know how you went

Please complete the Artist & Venue Survey to let us know how it all went. (This will be sent to you)

Got more questions?

Head to our resources page or call the SALA Festival team.