School Participation
SALA Festival is proud to have Credit Union SA as our Education Partner, supporting the visual arts in schools and school participation in the Festival. There are different ways that students can engage in the Festival, please read on for more.
Registering for SALA festival
Registrations for the 2023 SALA Festival are open from 1 March – 10 May, midnight.*
*SALA staff will be available to support registrations and applications up until 5pm, same day.
ways you can participate in sala
hold an exhibition of student artwork
Every year, South Australian schools and kindergartens are able to participate in the SALA Festival by holding exhibitions of student artwork, which are free to register, thanks Credit Union SA.
Check out our Information Session for Educators to get a sense of how student exhibitions fit into the Festival and what kind of positive outcomes there can be for students who take part in the biggest open-access visual arts Festival in the world! Our downloadable School Participation Guide walks you through how to put a student exhibition together and register it in the Festival. Get ideas from images of past student exhibitions and check out the FAQ at the bottom of this page.
Every year, South Australian schools and kindergartens are able to participate in the SALA Festival by holding exhibitions of student artwork. These can be as small or as large as you like, featuring anywhere from a small number of students, to the whole school! There are many different ways that this can be approached – check out the 2022 School Participation Guide for more information, and the 2020 image gallery for inspiration. Find Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of this page or check out our 2022 Educator Information Session. Registration is free for student exhibitions.
Incorporate SA artists into the curriculum
Throughout the month of August, South Australian visual artists will exhibit their works across the state in a range of traditional and unconventional venues. The SALA Program will be released in July both in print and online, and contains all registered exhibitions. Use the map feature in the online program or the free SALA App to see which exhibitions will be nearby or plan an excursion.
Every year we celebrate an established South Australian artist on our poster. Check out our page dedicated to the 2022 Feature Artist, Mark Valenzuela, which include resources and where to see his work. We also keep an archive of our past Feature Artists, including past Educator Resources (which support teachers in exploring the work of SALA Feature Artists and suggest ways to engage with artworks encountered on excursion).
Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Schools are encouraged to register an exhibition of student artwork in the SALA Festival that falls within the month of August by at least one day. The exhibition will need to be open to the public at least once.
Some ideas for how to participate include:
– having an exhibition in the school gym and holding an open night for public access.
– weaving artwork into the school fence so that the work is viewable 24/7
– finding a local cafe or community space to host the student artwork on the walls.
– creating an online exhibition of student artwork
Other ideas are welcome as long as they comply with State Government physical distancing restrictions.
SALA Registrations for 2023 will open on 1 March, 2023.
Exhibitions or events need to occur in August.
They can start well before and run long after, or maybe only run for 1 day, as long as the exhibition is safely viewable/accessible to the public at least once during August.
As many as you like! There is no required amount of students to participate. It can be a whole school, a few classes, one class, a small group, or an individual.
You can register for the 2022 SALA Festival by completing and submitting a registration form. This form will be accessible via the SALA Online Portal.
School exhibitions need to be of student artwork. Any artwork not made by students needs to be clearly labelled as such.
You can certainly have multiple exhibitions! Each new exhibition will require a new registration form.
Any time since the last Festival (August 2022). Educators who have previously participated in SALA recommend aiming to have all work completed by the end of Term 2, unless your project requires otherwise.
If you have any questions please contact the SALA Office.
Don’t have any images of student work? That’s ok!
Please do not use the school logo or a stock image.
Instead, you could use a photograph of similar student artwork or a close-up/detail shot of a work in progress.
Contact the SALA office if you need further assistance.
Yes.
If your exhibition is off-campus, come to an agreement with the venue about how sales will be processed (will they forward inquiries to you or will they process sales and possibly take a commission?).
If the exhibition is on-campus or online then you can determine how this goes. In either case, make sure that there is a way for viewers to find out prices (eg. prices on a floorsheet or prices on artwork labels), a system of recording sales, a way of indicating which works have sold (a red dot sticker is standard) and a plan for how sold artworks are packaged/collected.
A theme can be a great way to tie everything together but is not required.
Kindergartens are grouped with schools in the SALA Program under the label of ‘Education’ and encouraged to celebrate their students’ artwork.
If you are registering an online exhibition, you will need to have secured a URL before you submit your exhibition form. If you wish to submit your registration before the exhibition is ready to be viewed, see this information sheet for your options.
There are no stipulations around how many pieces are exhibited.
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Credit Union SA School Awards
Established in 2019, the School Awards aimed to encourage South Australian schools to participate in the annual SALA Festival in August and recognise different strengths and creativity in presenting student artwork to the community.
WINNERS
Berri Regional Secondary College
Berri Brushtrokes was an excellent SALA Festival debut with a variety of artwork on show, different modes of display, and the painting demonstrations by students on opening night were a fantastic touch.
Valley View Secondary School
It was fantastic to see students involved at all stages of putting on the exhibition Yellow and Blue and being hands-on for the installation process. A variety of artwork styles were presented, allowing individuality to shine through the work. Another excellent SALA Festival debut.
Woodcroft College
Science in Art – Invisible Worlds was a comprehensive and interactive on-campus exhibition that encompassed a breadth of styles and involved thinking beyond the execution of artwork to audience interaction. Congratulations to all students involved on the invisible worlds discovered – real, imagined, microscopic or otherwise!
Woodville Gardens Primary School
The diverse and skilful outcomes in Art on Show at Armada Arndale were impressive – even when responding to common subject matter there was such variety and individuality in how students responded. Congratulations on a well-received exhibition and great use of a local space.
COMMENDATIONS
Christies Beach Primary School
The seasonal theme in Seasonal Scenes made for a cohesive exhibition with a breadth of engagement across year levels, and fostering student pride in an outcome with an impact more than the sum of its parts.
Urrbrae Agricultural High School
Art at Urrbrae Agricultural High School Barn Market was a fantastic display of high quality artwork, and the channelling of established artists in the elevating of ordinary scenes on campus was a highlight.
WINNERS (& judges’ comments):
Christies Beach Primary School
Coastal Connections not only gave primacy to students’ learning and rationale behind their work, but was presented in an engaging installation in the school library that cohesively tied all of the work together.
Littlehampton Primary School
Touched by Nature featured an incredible range of media in a thoughtful installation in the Littlehampton Peace Memorial Hall. A fantastic SALA debut.
Nuriootpa High School
Hidden Creatures of the Barossa brought highly-considered sculptural works (creatures) to a number of shopfronts in the Barossa. A great way to bring student work to the community in an engaging way.
St Aloysius College
Signs of the Times utilised a small space to present big themes by using the format of the postcard as a way for students to be heard on current issues. An impressive emphasis on student voice and tackling big ideas.
COMMENDATIONS (& judges’ comments):
Pinnacle College
Diverse and United presented an engaging online exhibition of very polished and authentically diverse work.
Riverland Special School
Tales of Textiles proved how creativity can be bolstered by a restraint – focusing on the medium of textiles encouraged a myriad of creative ideas. The domestic object installations with textile intervention were a particular highlight.
WINNERS
Adelaide High School – Adelaide High School SALA Exhibition 2020
Faith Lutheran College – Feels to Frames – Faith Lutheran College Year 6 Artists
St John’s Grammar School – Ã la carte
Wirreanda Secondary School – Classic Blue
COMMENDATIONS
Nuriootpa High School – Nuriootpa High School Senior SALA Exhibition
Walkerville Primary School – Walk the Terrace with Walkerville Primary School
WINNERS
St John’s Grammar
Conversations with Line
Riverland Special School
Sensory Stars
The Heights School
The Heights School Art Exhibition Competition
St Gabriel’s School
Gabriel’s Gallery
COMMENDATIONS
Bridgewater Primary School
The Earth Beneath Our Feet
Woodside Primary School
We All Smile in the Same Language
Bowden Brompton Community School
Kill the Streets
Primary School Award:
Joint Winners: Woodside Primary – Plastic Oceans
St Brigid’s School – Identity Explorers
Runner Up: Elizabeth Grove Primary School – Square-eyed
Secondary School Award:
Winner: South Coast collective of schools including
Encounter Lutheran College, Investigator
College and Victor Harbor High School
– SALA School Art Show
Joint Runner Up: Bowden Brompton Community School
– Work Hard Dream Big
St John’s Grammar School
– Current Practice
