In June-September 2021, The Mill welcomed Yankunytjatjara woman, multidisciplinary artist Lilla Berry to undertake a residency in our studios supported by City of Adelaide. The outcome of this residency was a new exhibition, STNRG WMN, presented in our gallery for Tarnanthi 2021. Lilla has collaborated with strong women, including Pearl Berry, Iteka Ukarla, Carly Tarkari Dodd, Mali Isabel, Amber Ahang, Kirsty Williams and Morgan Sette.
Image: Lilla Berry in the Exhibition Space, Photo Morgan Sette.
Image: Lilla Berry and Mali Isabel in conversation with The Mill’s Adele Sliuzas. Photo Morgan Sette.
Artist statement
The arts have always been embedded into my life. My family is made up of musicians and visual artists, and practicing art was something I just did when I was younger. Although using my body seemed to be one of the things I enjoyed most, whether that was dancing or acrobatics. As I got older and more influenced by others around me, the inherent idea that I was an artist shifted and changed. My practice moved towards a dance focus, as this was what I had the greatest opportunity to practice. However, as I’ve continued to develop as an arts worker, I’ve been able to tap into the other areas of my practice and continue to develop my skills across a range of mediums, and now have the confidence to articulate myself as a multi-disciplinary artist. Even if each discipline doesn’t get the same amount of my attention, they are equally as important and rewarding for me to practice.
STRNG WMN. will explore what it means to be strong Aboriginal women. Including culturally, physically and mentally. I have always been surrounded by strong women growing up. I was raised by a single mother, and as an athlete all of my team mates were strong women, being strong role models. And growing up watching other young Aboriginal woman dancing with Kurruru, I was so inspired by their strength in culture.
Through working with my community, I will take the lived experiences of other women to inform movement to be captured on film, still images and installation. I want to capture the authentic voices of our community, and explore all the ways we as women find strength, as it comes in all different types of forms.
Where: The Mill Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Cost:Free
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, access the pedestrian ramp on the corner of Gunson St. The Mill has concrete flooring throughout and a disability toilet. View more in-depth information on our accessibilitypage.
The Mill welcomes emerging artist Frances Cohen and their new exhibition The Many Faces of Frances, curated by emerging curator Christina Lauren.
Drawing on identity politics, and underpinned by theories of the self, Frances’ portraiture explores what it is to know and to understand the complexity of one’s self. Frances uses found images alongside photographic selfies layered with thick paint and gap filler to create a textural surface where features of the portraits are obscured, slipping and displaced. The works are uncanny, evocative and emotional, conveying a sense of uncertainty and heaviness while also appealing to the empathetic recognition of the viewer, eliciting the question who is this portrait of, could it be me?
Frances and curator Christina Lauren have worked together to present this exhibition which invites audiences to consider conceptual underpinnings alongside Frances’ use of material and process. Within this, they have generously opened a discussion around mental illness, and in particular Borderline Personality Disorder, which Frances speaks about from a personal perspective.
It’s hardly a ground-breaking revelation to say that all of us comprise a pastiche of everyone we’ve ever met. It is a well-known cliché that we are shaped by those around us, moulded through interactions with others that inform our worldview and our tastes. What is generally implied by this notion is that we have one overarching sense of who we are, with certain aspects of our personality being in flux as we move through life and have different experiences. I have always struggled to hold down my sense of self. I feel like I have been many different people to many different people; a different character tailored to each new audience member, worn like a mask. With that said, basic empathy also affords us the knowledge that each of us has their own mask; a face they present to the world that has been forged from a lifetime of hurt feelings and awkward encounters. I just seem to have accumulated a lot of them. Every character I’ve played has their own mask, forged through different lifetimes of impulsivity and self-destruction. Often it feels like I am wearing multiple at once; like I am staring out at the world around me from behind multiple numb layers of cracked plaster. Each of these paintings is a self-portrait. I am at the core of each one, hiding underneath the layers I find easier to heap upon myself, rather than deal with.
'The Many Faces of Frances' unearths a truly vulnerable series of self-portraits created Frances Cohen. The series explores Frances' warped sense of self-image, where each painting seeks to survey the idea of a constructed personality, and complex emotions. Frances' diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder often presents within the work as a construction of different personas, which she says 'alter my outward appearance to try and hide the gaps in my personality'.
Frances’ portraits resonate deeply with the viewer through a balance of familiarity and alienness. The viewer recognises themselves in the self-portraits through universal feelings of sadness, numbness, anger and a sense of being lost. Frances' ability to capture sadness, particularly within the eyes of each portrait, is a stand-out feature. Where most painters use the eyes to promote connection and recognition, Frances paints exclusively around them. This provides a novel view, almost reversing the mirror of the portrait and asking the viewer to look outwards rather than within. What image do they project? What mask do they paint on top, to hide their painful depth?
Portraiture has long provided a relationship between ones-self and the subject, allowing for reassurance of some of our most difficult feelings. In a time of great uncertainty, it is natural to search for what it means to be human and what it means to have human experiences. The Many Faces of Frances seeks to do just this, while also fighting against the stigma of mental health, in particular Borderline Personality Disorder, which remains one of the most misunderstood diagnoses. Frances’ portraits provide insight into the disorder, challenging preconceived perceptions, and giving audiences the opportunity to recognise how emotions felt by those with Borderline Personality Disorder are not so far from their own.
Frances Cohen is a painter living and working on Kaurna Yarta. She attended the University of South Australia, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Contemporary Art in 2020 and completed her honours year in 2021. She has previously exhibited work in Two Factor Authentication (2021), A Quarter Turn Around the Sun (2020), Friends (2019) and has contributed work to UniSA’s annual Art on Campus exhibition. She has also been published in Regurgitate (2021), Non-Compliant Quarterly (2019) and numerous editions of Verse magazine.
Christina Lauren is an emerging curator and currently the Carclew Resident curator, as part of their 2021 Sharehouse program. Graduating a Bachelor of Contemporary Art in 2019, Christina implements her experience and knowledge as a visual artist into her curatorial practices, as well as allowing her passion for arts theory to guide her. She is a multi-media artist, currently working mostly in oil paint, exploring notions of the human condition and mental health. Christina has worked previously as a curator through City of Adelaide’s Emerging Curator program supported by Carclew in 2019, as well as launching a collaborative arts music project with Bad Habits Events in 2019, ‘Blossom Art Space’. Christina began her residency at Carclew in 2020, and has continued through to 2021.
Christina has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including ‘Unwearable’ at Cloister Workrooms, Kaurna Land 2017, ‘Art on Campus’ in the West Oak Hotel, Kaurna Land 2018, 'Inevitable’ in Carclew House Foyer, Kaurna Land 2019, University of South Australia’s ‘Art on Campus’, Kaurna Land, 2019 and Mindshare SA’s ‘Mindshare 2021 Exhibition’, Adelaide City Library, 2021. Christina was awarded the 2021 SALA Contemporary Curator Award for her curatorial role in ‘Refractions’ at Carclew.
Image: Frances Cohen, Core Memory, 2020, mixed media on MDF, 46cm x 60cm Photo: courtesy of the artist
When: Friday, October 29, 5.45pm sharp for a 6pm start
Where:The Mill, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: Free
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
Autoeulogy is an original solo work by Adelaide-based theatre-maker Lucy Haas-Hennessy. An eerily prescient sci-fi tragicomedy about isolation at the end of the world, it was first staged at the Mill in early 2020 among the first ripples of the COVID-19 pandemic. One very long year later, the work will be redeveloped against the fascinating new cultural landscape that the pandemic is leaving in its wake, asking questions about what’s changed about the end of the world - and what hasn’t.
Autoeulogy has been supported by an Arts and Culture grant from City of Adelaide.
Due to venue capacity restrictions, we ask you only book a ticket if you are able to attend. All attendees must be aware of our hygiene policy before attending our venue.
Lucy Haas-Hennessy is an Adelaide-based actor, playwright, dramaturge and theatre-maker, and was the entire creative team behind the first production of Autoeulogy. Lucy’s work is interested in the contemporary significance of the ancient art of live performance - in what makes it continue to make its inimitable impact on audiences and hold its ground even in the high-tech digital age. She is a 2017 graduate of the Adelaide College of the Arts acting program, a 2019 Helpmann Fellow, and a 2021 intern with Brisbane-based theatre company Zen Zen Zo.
Lucy will be joined in this phase of development by Mary Angley (director and dramaturge), an emerging theatre-maker and a recent graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts’ Master of Directing program. In 2019, Mary created Paper Mouth Theatre as a forum for bringing together emerging creatives to work on experimental projects within a Queer, Feminist framework. Mary’s work has received support from The Helpmann Academy, Carclew, Splash Adelaide, Science Gallery, and La Mama.
Where: The Mill Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Cost:$10 with a drink on arrival
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
The Mill welcomes Yankunytjatjara woman, multi-disciplinary artist Lilla Berry as our second Collaboration & Mentorship artist in resident (CaM-Res), supported by City of Adelaide. Lilla has created this work through development time in The Mill’s Breakout space, mentorship with The Mill’s artistic team and the opportunity to collaborate with photographer Morgan Sette. Lilla’s exhibition celebrates her relationships with her community, through practicing dance, footy, weaving and the act of coming together. She has also collaborated with strong women, including Pearl Berry, Iteka Ukarla, Carly Tarkari Dodd, Mali Isabel, Amber Ahang and Kirsty Williams.
The arts have always been embedded into my life. My family is made up of musicians and visual artists, and practicing art was something I just did when I was younger. Although using my body seemed to be one of the things I enjoyed most, whether that was dancing or acrobatics. As I got older and more influenced by others around me, the inherent idea that I was an artist shifted and changed. My practice moved towards a dance focus, as this was what I had the greatest opportunity to practice. However, as I’ve continued to develop as an arts worker, I’ve been able to tap into the other areas of my practice and continue to develop my skills across a range of mediums, and now have the confidence to articulate myself as a multi-disciplinary artist. Even if each discipline doesn’t get the same amount of my attention, they are equally as important and rewarding for me to practice.
I’m extremely excited for the opportunity to give these mediums more attention through my residency and exhibition. I will be working through painting, weaving, video and photography, as well movement, to explore the themes of the exhibition. My development as a curator will also be explored, as I not only curate my own works, but also those of other artists I will collaborate with.
STRNG WMN. will explore what it means to be strong Aboriginal women. Including culturally, physically and mentally. I have always been surrounded by strong women growing up. I was raised by a single mother, and as an athlete all of my team mates were strong women, being strong role models. And growing up watching other young Aboriginal woman dancing with Kurruru, I was so inspired by their strength in culture.
Through the facilitation of women’s circles, I will take the lived experiences of other women to inform movement to be captured on film, still images and installation. I want to capture the authentic voices of our community, and explore all the ways we as women find strength, as it comes in all different types of forms.
Lilla Berry is a Yankunytjatjara woman, multi-disciplinary artist, arts worker and producer. Lilla began her arts career at Carclew in 2014, and completed a secondment part time role with Country Arts South Australia as the Aboriginal Programs Associate Producer in 2018, and has contributed to a wide range of exciting programming.
In 2017, Lilla formed the Aboriginal cultural contemporary dance company Of Desert and Sea, alongside her fellow dance ensemble members. Of Desert and Sea explores themes relevant to the 5 Aboriginal women who make up the company. They have had
performances and workshops at places such WOMADelaide, Art Gallery of South Australia, Dance Rites at the Sydney Opera House, and their debut show Beautiful, presented in Tarnanthi, November 2019. Beautiful’s second season at Adelaide Fringe 2020 also received the Emerging Artist Award. In 2019 she received her first screen credit, producing Sansbury Sisters as part of the Deadly Family Portraits Initiative with South Australian Film Corp and ABC iView.
Lilla’s practice as an artist is multi-disciplinary, as she explores mediums including dance, weaving, painting, video and photography. Her artworks are representation of her own lived experiences, and those of her community.
Yankunytjatjara woman, multi-disciplinary artist Lilla Berry
When: Wednesday 6 October, 3.45pm sharp for a 4pm start
Where:The Mill, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: Free
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
The project is to develop a new immersive and interactive dance theatre production. The work will be performed in The Lab at Light Adelaide and will utilise the latest LED screen technology. The central dramaturgical premise of the work is a contemporary ritual that invites the audience to reconnect with themselves, place, and community in order to release that which holds them back, especially in relation to the experiences of the past year.
Due to venue capacity restrictions, we ask you only book a ticket if you are able to attend. All attendees must be aware of our hygiene policy before attending our venue.
Samuel Hall graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance in 2016 with a Diploma in Dance Performance. In 2017, he created his first professional choreography ‘Subsequent Slavery’ for the NZ Fringe Festival before performing in Strut Dance Inc’s restaging of ‘One Flat Thing, Reproduced' by William Forsythe. He then went on to join Swedish dance company Norrdans for their 17/18 season as an Apprentice. In 2018, he joined the acclaimed production ‘Sleep No More Shanghai’ by immersive theatre company, Punchdrunk. In 2020, he returned home to South Australia where he began working as a freelance dancer. He worked for major Australian company’s Dancenorth and Australian Dance Theatre, before joining the cast of Lewis Major’s Adelaide Festival double bill, S/Words and Unfolding. Samuel has consistently sought choreographic opportunities throughout his performance career, creating works for Light Adelaide, Dance Hub SA, QL2 Youth Dance Company, Norrdans, and his own personal projects.
Where: The Mill Showcase, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Cost: Free
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
The Mill Showcase is a gallery spacededicated to artists who work in our studio spaces at our Angas Street location, exhibiting some of the artworks and products that have been produced under our roof. The Mill Showcase profiles our artists, so that you can put a face to the name and get to know some of our dedicated makers.
This Sixth edition of The Mill Showcase features work by Eleanor Green, Elana Photakis and Lisa Penney AKA Hey Reflect’o
About the artists:
Eleanor Green is an emerging artist based in Adelaide. Her passion for painting started at a young age, inspired by her love of animals and nature. As Illustrations by Eleanor, she creates commissioned portraits of dogs, cats, and horses for clients all over the world. With each new piece, Eleanor works to capture each animal’s unique personality and spirit.
I recently moved into The Mill Studios, and for my first showcase, I wanted to bring together artists from the collective through a common theme. I’m primarily an animal portrait artist, so it was a natural choice to paint the pets of the artists I work alongside.
For my showcase, I wanted to get creative and move outside of my more traditional style. With this collection, I’ve embraced free-flowing brushwork together with vibrant colours. It’s allowed me to let loose and have fun with my art, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Eleanor has been working at The Mill since 2021.
Elana – Jo Photakis is a trained seamstress and artist working in clay sculpture, photography and garment design and manufacture. Elana uses art to access other worlds and transport her viewers into a poetic universe. Currently, Elana is starting up her small business Mother of Bones that involves creating ethically made clothing using plant dyes.
My work is inspired by colour and texture in nature, ideas of fantasy, folklore, and mythology. These sculptures were made during a time of personal growth and are a physical manifestation of what a woman requires to reconnect with her inner psyche after being dormant.
Elana has been working at The Mill since 2020
Lisa Penney’s brandHey Reflect’owas created to answer the needs of cyclists for something fashionable, visible, and ethical to wear on the road. Lisa was sick of rolling up to trendy bars in an awesome outfit covered by an oversized tradie vest. She set out to design high visibility reflective vests that not only compliment outfits but also make you feel great. Hey Reflect’o vests are designed by Lisa and made here in Adelaide from sustainable materials.
Hey Reflect’o cycling gear is fashionable, breathable, durable and eye-catching. Adorned with Funky Reflect’o and fluro geometric patterns these vests make you stand out day and night. It’s high visibility meets high fashion.
When: Friday, September 3, 2021, 5.45pm sharp for a 6pm start
Where:The Mill, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Duration: 1.5 hours, including post-show discussion
Cost: Free
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
This showing is the culmination of a two-week second development of The Circle Show by Jo Zealand; an interactive performance piece blending music, comedy, clowning, and dance. Jo has been collaborating with theatrical storyteller Suzie Skinner and musician Johnny Siegel to push the boundaries between performance and self-exploration.
As the successful recipient of the 2021 Brink Productions Theatre residency, Jo will be working with Chris Drummond as an artistic provocateur who will give dramaturgical, design and conceptual support to develop and extend this new work.
Due to venue capacity restrictions, we ask you only book a ticket if you are able to attend. All attendees must be aware of our hygiene policy before attending our venue.
A performer for 25 years, Jo Zealand specialises in interactive theatre, comic character and physical theatre with a musical twist and has an Advanced Diploma in Professional Screenwriting from RMIT. Jo’s aim is to use performing arts to bring about connection, awareness and joy. Beginning her training as a founding member of Restless Dance Company and Slack Taxi, Jo has studied with master teachers across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Artistic Director of No Strings Attached 1999-2004, she lead the company on an overseas tour and was nominated for an Innovation Award.
The Centre Stage Residency at The Mill will progress a new work presented by Paper Mouth Theatre to its next stage of development, including a work-in-progress public showing and culminating in a season at The Mill as part of Adelaide Fringe 2022.
Caitlin Ellen Moore (she/they) will be creatively producing YOU’RE ALL INVITED TO MY SON SAMUEL’S FOURTH BIRTHDAY PARTY alongside writer and lead performer Mary Angley (she/they), and performer, composer and projection designer Dan Thorpe (he/him).
This is a cosmic, multimedia performance about climate change, rugged individualism, and decadence.
Anchored within the suburban sphere of an outer-space-themed-fourth-birthday-party, this work transcends a cycle of time, spanning the Big Bang to the end of an entropying universe.
Narrated by Samuel’s Mother and Father, this work positions the audience as the unseen (but ever-present) birthday boy, SAMUEL.
Amidst melting ice cream cakes, decimated piñatas, a dying planet, and a rocket ship to Mars, SAMUEL is forced to reckon with the ever-present question: “who do I hold accountable?”
This residency is presented in collaboration with Adelaide Fringe Artist Fund.
When: Tuesday, September 14 to Thursday, September 16, 2021, from 10am–4pm
Where: The Mill Breakout, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta (Adelaide) (enter via Gunson Street)
Cost: $60
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
City Mobilities is a three-day intensive exploring ideas about the way we access, move, and engage in public spaces. City Mobilities is an ongoing initiative between The Mill and OSCA, supported by the City of Adelaide Strategic Partnership program.
The workshop is open to artists and non-artists interested in gaining new skills and knowledge in creating site-based art projects. Participants will work with the lead artists Tom Borgas (The Mill resident artist) and Paul Gazzola (OSCA Artistic Director) to explore how we can rethink and reconfigure the city’s infrastructure into other forms and functionalities.
What Participants Can Expect:
This 3 day workshop will explore a variety of visual, design and performance making methods to highlight, question and renegotiate the importance of individual participation in public space. Participants will be invited to research various city sites and public spaces and develop a series of conceptual and physical responses in a collaborative studio-based set up.
The workshop will:
Offer participants a fertile space to share, learn, create, and exchange ideas, skills, and processes
Open-up new ways of thinking, doing, and making in a collaborative and collegial gathering
Stimulate and support the skills development of SA artists seeking new approaches to working within the public domain
Details
What to wear: Participants are requested to dress adequately and bring a hat for the sun as we will be working outside at times.
What materials to bring:
Participants need to bring a sketch pad and pencil/pen
Where: The Mill’s Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Adelaide
Cost: $150 + booking fee
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
About the masterclass:
Jordan Reynolds welcomes guitar enthusiasts to join him for an intimate afternoon exploring the theory and craft of guitars. Talking through his artisan practice, Jordan will give participants insight into how guitars are constructed. He will also talk about care and maintenance, and the important things to consider when customising your own guitar.
What participants can expect:
Jordan will talk participants through the anatomy of guitars, with hands on examples of guitars built here at The Mill. In the second half he will lead the group through some basic guitar maintenance and speak about customising your set up. There will be lots of opportunities to ask questions, and partake in open discussion with the group.
This masterclass is hands on, and participants will get the opportunity to touch guitar parts, see inside and gain knowledge of tools. However, this is a talk-based masterclass. If you’re interested in a deeper level of practical and process based learning, please see our other masterclass with Jordan!
No skills required, all welcome.
Tea and light refreshments provided.
Jordan is the premier maker of musical instruments in Adelaide, specialising in extended range guitars and basses, handmade to order. He not only makes instruments, but has also serviced the Adelaide guitar scene for over a decade in repair, servicing and customising. Jordan has crafted a unique style bringing modern design and traditional techniques together to make one off instruments designed to last the test of time.
Having studied as a furniture maker whilst completing the first ever Guitar Making Apprenticeship in Australia, Jordan brings a different approach to Instrument construction to other Luthiers. Focusing on instruments that not only look the part, but also sound and feel premium, and most importantly designed to withstand the harsh Australian climate and conditions of working musicians
Valuing the local artisan scene, Jordan also works with other makers and artists every year to create one off instruments combining his own style and construction with other’s aesthetics and medium.
Jordan’s guitars have toured every continent of the world, and won features in multiple makers exhibitions and festivals. He has been a guest speaker at the International Guitar Festival and runs personalised classes on guitar making, with a big belief that education and transparency can only bring more creativity and push makers of all kinds to strive for perfection and innovation.
Each year The Mill presents a series of SALA Masterclasses with prominent South Australian artists. We invite practicing artists and creatives to participate, offering the opportunity to grow their practice through learning new skills, connecting with peers and developing insight into professional artists practice.
The Mill's Masterclass program runs throughout the year as a professional development program for artists, offering workshops with established international and national touring artists in both performance and visual arts. These diverse sessions draw South Australian artists into global conversations around aesthetic, performance and creative practice.
When:Saturday, August 21, 2021, 10am-12:30pm and 1:30-4pm
Where: The Mill’s Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Adelaide
Cost: $150 + booking fee
($125 +bf until Aug 19, use the promo code GLAZED)
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
About the masterclass:
Join artist Ari Menendez for a ceramic workshop where you will build your own oil burner.
Work with stoneware clay and learn hand building techniques to construct a fully functional oil burner.
Ari will guide participants through the processes which will include a combination of slab building and pinching techniques to construct the oil burner.
Once constructed, Ari will share some of her favourite decorating techniques, such as carving and mark making - so that participants can make their oil burner truely unique to them.
Ari will bisque, glaze and fire all pieces to a final temperature of 1280 degrees. All burners will be ready to be collected within 3 weeks of the workshop.
No experience required - all welcome!
What participants can expect:
Participants will take home their very own hand built, glazed and fired oil burner!
Materials used:
Stoneware clay
Sculpting tools
Ari Menendez began creating with clay in 2016 after a friend gifted her a workshop experience with a well established Adelaide Artist. This day proved to be a transformative experience and clay became the deep connection to the Australian continent that German native Ari, until then, did not realise she was missing. What followed was an ongoing journey of learning and growth through ceramics, always anchored in the profound appreciation of nature and the ancient wisdom of creating with earth.
Ari’s design philosophy is anchored in functional ceramics with a minimalist restrained aesthetic. Her ceramic practice, encompasses both, hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques, often exposing parts of raw clay in her finished wares. Ari has established a small studio space in her home in the Adelaide Hills and continues to dream of it becoming a place for others to experience the healing nature of creating with clay.
Each year The Mill presents a series of SALA Masterclasses with prominent South Australian artists. We invite practicing artists and creatives to participate, offering the opportunity to grow their practice through learning new skills, connecting with peers and developing insight into professional artists practice.
The Mill's Masterclass program runs throughout the year as a professional development program for artists, offering workshops with established international and national touring artists in both performance and visual arts. These diverse sessions draw South Australian artists into global conversations around aesthetic, performance and creative practice.
Where: The Mill’s Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Adelaide
Cost: $375 + booking fee
Places limited to four participants, don’t miss out!
Disability access is available via our Angas St entrance, and a disability toilet is also available. View our accessibility informationpage.
About the masterclass:
Have you dabbled in guitar making, but want to know a bit more? If you know the basics and you’re looking for some in depth knowledge Jordan Reynolds welcomes you to join him for an intimate day long masterclass exploring the craft of guitars.
What participants can expect:
Taking place in his studio at The Mill, Jordan will take participants through the 8 steps of guitar making with hand-on and skills based tutorials throughout the day. Participants will learn about the materials and tools used in the guitar making process, and will have the opportunity to shape the neck of a guitar.
Participants will take home a goody bag including a specialised guitar shaping tool.
This masterclass is hands on, and involves practical and skills based making. However, it is not a masterclass in building a finished guitar. Stay tuned for guitar building courses from Jordan in 2022.
Some basic knowledge required.
Tea and light refreshments provided.
Jordan is the premier maker of musical instruments in Adelaide, specialising in extended range guitars and basses, handmade to order. He not only makes instruments, but has also serviced the Adelaide guitar scene for over a decade in repair, servicing and customising. Jordan has crafted a unique style bringing modern design and traditional techniques together to make one off instruments designed to last the test of time.
Having studied as a furniture maker whilst completing the first ever Guitar Making Apprenticeship in Australia, Jordan brings a different approach to Instrument construction to other Luthiers. Focusing on instruments that not only look the part, but also sound and feel premium, and most importantly designed to withstand the harsh Australian climate and conditions of working musicians
Valuing the local artisan scene, Jordan also works with other makers and artists every year to create one off instruments combining his own style and construction with other’s aesthetics and medium.
Jordan’s guitars have toured every continent of the world, and won features in multiple makers exhibitions and festivals. He has been a guest speaker at the International Guitar Festival and runs personalised classes on guitar making, with a big belief that education and transparency can only bring more creativity and push makers of all kinds to strive for perfection and innovation.
Each year The Mill presents a series of SALA Masterclasses with prominent South Australian artists. We invite practicing artists and creatives to participate, offering the opportunity to grow their practice through learning new skills, connecting with peers and developing insight into professional artists practice.
The Mill's Masterclass program runs throughout the year as a professional development program for artists, offering workshops with established international and national touring artists in both performance and visual arts. These diverse sessions draw South Australian artists into global conversations around aesthetic, performance and creative practice.
In July-August 2021 The Mill welcomed The Centre of Democracy to present Stitch and Resist, an exhibition of contemporary craftivism. Bringing together 140 works by activists from all around the world, this project is an example of the agency of communities working with a shared goal.
This exhibition is the culmination of a year long project of the same name, in which the Centre of Democracy engaged with community organisations and groups, as well as with the general public, to discuss, and create works addressing a range of contemporary issues.
Stitch & Resist showcases craftivist pieces that vary in terms of skill level and artistic merit. Their significance lies less in these values than in the political work they do, the contribution they make to social change. Pieces that appear in the exhibition have been created in English, Arabic, and indigenous languages, and many address diversity, inclusion and equality. As well as functioning as vehicles for addressing contemporary social issues, the works demonstrate the fact that everyone can be involved in craftivism. Over 140 works have been produced by a large number of individuals, community groups, and partner organisations from across South Australia, Australia, and internationally.
The Centre of Democracy is a collaboration between the History Trust of South Australia and the State Library of South Australia. It showcases the people, ideas and movements that have shaped, and continue to shape, democracy in South Australia. Featuring treasures from the state’s collections, the gallery contents challenge visitors to think again about people and power.
Any cancellations due to Covid-19, tickets will be refunded
About the masterclass:
Participants will learn methods for generating choreography, piecing together a composition, and hear about the collaboration that led to Somewhere, Everywhere, Nowhere, as well as Alison and Yui's experiences of previous collaborations with other makers on different projects.
Experience level:
Dancers – moderate level of experience in any dance styles.
About the show:
Somewhere, Everywhere, Nowhere, OzAsia Festival 2021.
Humans (for now) live on one planet: a globalised world where the digital is used to link us with more opinions and information than ever before. Yet, simultaneously, that world seems to deepen the separation between people by time, space, cultural histories and languages.
Somewhere, Everywhere, Nowhere bridges the similarities and differences that connect us all. Australian and Japanese choreographers and dancers Alison Currie (whose recent work was commissioned by Australian Dance Theatre) and award-winning soloist Yui Kawaguchi join forces to compose a collision between the everyday and imagined possibilities.
Using sound, light and form to accentuate the comparing techniques between each dancer, Alison and Yui’s stunning choreography drifts in and out of sync to expose the significant, simple and absurd. An ephemeral performance about parallels and connection, Somewhere, Everywhere, Nowhere unveils how humans are defined not by what we know, but rather by what we are yet to discover.
When: August 4 & August 5: 12-2pm, August 6: 4-7pm, August 7: 12-2pm, 2021
Where: The Mill Breakout, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta enter via Gunson St
Cost: Free
Bureau d’Exchange presents a participatory performance work that reflects upon the meaning and value of objects and the unique stories embedded within them.
Please bring a personal item you feel ready to let go of, to exchange for an item of equal emotional value from the Bureau’s ever-evolving stock of ‘merchandise’.
Bureau ‘staff’ (award-winning artist Cynthia Schwertsik and performer Emma Beech) will guide you through the discreet process of valuing your item and adding its story to the Bureau’s poignant emporium of memories and desires.
Bookings are available for individuals or small groups (<5 people), there are two bookings available per 15 minute session.
PLEASE NOTE: Mask wearing is required throughout your attendance at The Mill unless you are an exempt person under the current SA Health guidelines.
Cynthia Schwertsik’s art practice is diverse, including visual art and contemporary performance, with a focus on activating public space. She works preferably in collaborations to investigate the oxymorons found in the wake of contemporary life. Absurdity and humour are central to Cynthia’s cross-disciplinary art-solutions.
Emma Beech graduated from Flinders Drama Centre in 2000, and works across theatre and screen. She has established a practice developing theatre shows from meaningful conversations with strangers. Emma has worked with The Last Tuesday Society, Real TV, Bron Batten, Patch, Monkey Baa, Playwriting Australia, Arts House, Open Space Contemporary Arts, STC, SA Museum, The Rabble and Vitalstatistix.
Elyas Alavi’s practice is interdisciplinary bridging elements from poetry to visual arts, from archive to everyday events with the intention to address issues around displacement, trauma, memory, body and sexual identity.
Valerie Berry is an actor, performance maker and emerging director. Throughout her practice, she has focused on collaborative and interdisciplinary processes.
‘Crafting change’ studio: Saturday, July 24, 1-5pm
The Mill welcomes The Centre of Democracy to present Stitch and Resist, an exhibition of contemporary craftivism. Bringing together 140 works by activists from all around the world, this project is an example of the agency of communities working with a shared goal. Each individual stitch comes together to create collective meaning that is multi layered, complex and gestalt. The artists exhibited as part of Stitch and Resist do not necessarily see themselves as artists, and perhaps didn’t think of themselves as activists either. The works are both political in their messaging, and in their creation, allowing individuals to create statements that are personally meaningful from within their own homes or as part of community group.
We hope that visitors will be inspired by what you see in the gallery, and encourage you to consider your own politics and values in relation to the works on display. We also invite you to join local craftivists for a special public program Crafting Change on Saturday July 24 where you can hear from Stitch and Resist artists, purchase a cross stitch kit, create a Stitch and Resist themed badge and listen to protest music with Dan Monceaux AKA DJ Sepia.
This exhibition is the culmination of a year long project of the same name, in which the Centre of Democracy engaged with community organisations and groups, as well as with the general public, to discuss, and create works addressing a range of contemporary issues.
Stitch & Resist showcases craftivist pieces that vary in terms of skill level and artistic merit. Their significance lies less in these values than in the political work they do, the contribution they make to social change. Pieces that appear in the exhibition have been created in English, Arabic, and indigenous languages, and many address diversity, inclusion and equality. As well as functioning as vehicles for addressing contemporary social issues, the works demonstrate the fact that everyone can be involved in craftivism. Over 140 works have been produced by a large number of individuals, community groups, and partner organisations from across South Australia, Australia, and internationally.
The Centre of Democracy is a collaboration between the History Trust of South Australia and the State Library of South Australia. It showcases the people, ideas and movements that have shaped, and continue to shape, democracy in South Australia. Featuring treasures from the state’s collections, the gallery contents challenge visitors to think again about people and power.
Nikki Sullivan is Manager of the Centre of Democracy, a collaboration between the History Trust of South Australia and the State Library of South Australia.
Britt Burton is the Public Programs Coordinator for the History Trust of South Australia and the Centre of Democracy.
Quartz Pistol and The Mill present NATURE VS NURTURE, a three-part live video inspired by the deep sea, hydrothermal vent ecosystems where life on Earth is said to have originated.
Quartz Pistol AKA Abbey Howlett shares with you three tunes, representative of three different stages in her songwriting career featuring Myka Wallace on drums and Moses Carr on keys. Special thanks to Umbrella Festival and ArtsSA.
When: Wednesday, June 23, 2021, 5.45pm sharp for a 6pm start.
Where:The Mill, 154 Angas St, Adelaide (enter via the Gallery on Angas St)
Duration: 1 hour
MAMA is a new physical-theatre work which examines gender, identity and Patriarchy from a South Pacific lens. Drawing from the origin stories of the Samoan Fafafine and Tongan Fakaleiti, MAMA is commentary from this generational perspective of the labour division which validated the act of pre-colonial gender fluidity in accordance to a patriarchal society. It also examines the differences in the rite of passage of a boy becoming a man from the past traditional landscape to a present western/urban environment.
About the artists:
Thomas Fonua is an artist of Pacific decent with an established career as a dancer, choreographer and emerging leader. Thomas has worked for companies such as Black Grace (NZ) , Australian Dance Theatre, Red Sky Performance(Canada) and has been touring internationally from the age of 16.
Thomas’ alterego Kween Kong, is the Reigning Dragnation Australia Winner. With a strong focus to inspire, challenge and nurture our community with his loved based leadership style.
Thomas is the recipient of The (NZ) Prime Minster’s Award for Arts and Creativity(2015), Out For Australia’s Emerging Leader(2019) and has recently been nominated for the Dora Award For Outstanding Choreography in Canada.
Fez Faanana is well known for creating accessible, ground-breaking, physically dynamic, risqué and contemporary performance that infuses his Pacific bloodline, political bite, gender juggling, visual spectacle and tongue-in-cheek.
Fez is also Shivannah. He-she is the host and MC, choreographer, creative director, performer, collaborator and co- creator along with an all-male circus burlesque gender bending cast. As an independent artist, collaborator and arts worker/educator, Fez has toured extensively throughout Australia and internationally through Canada, the Pacific, the UK and the USA. He has featured in various cabarets, co-productions and commissioned works including Melbourne Comedy Festival, Melbourne International Festival, Sydney Biennale, Sydney Festival, Harbor Front Centre Toronto, Big Sky Works & Galapagos Art Space New York, Performance Space Sydney, Duckie Royal Vauxhall London and the Sydney Opera House Studio. He has also independently produced and programmed work for Brisbane Festival & Adelaide Fringe Festival.
A selection of handpicked musicians showcase the breadth of their craft in The Mill’s intimate venue.
Exploring the range of their work from instrumentation to genre, from solo to collaborative projects; peek inside the artistic process of some of SA’s preeminent music creators.
The Mill is an accessible space. Disability access is available via Angas St, and a disability toilet is also available. If you have any questions or additional accessibility requirements, please contact us at info@themilladelaide.com
Slowmango x The Bait Fridge Variety Show Sunday, September 12, 2021
A showcase of Slowmango and The Bait Fridge’s varied practices - a tasting plate of their artistic menu.
Notorious for their visually striking hand-made costumes, eclectic songwriting and immersive (and slightly chaotic) performances, this show will provide long-time collaborators Slowmango and The Bait Fridge a platform to explore the many avenues of creativity which they have travelled down over the years.
Improvised explorations in music and performance; ‘live-green screen’ video works; thoughtfully crafted compositions accompanying expressive performance; and audience interaction are among some of the elements to be explored.
Oisima & Friends play BARAKA Saturday, September 18, 2021
With the support of The Mill and Roadshow Film Corporation, Anth Wendt (Oisima) performs his original composition and score for the critically acclaimed film BARAKA with close friends Alexander Flood (Traditional percussion/drums) and Giovanni Clemente (Brass/Woodwind).
BARAKA is a non-narrative documentary film shot in 24 countries on six continents over a 14-month period exploring natural events, life, human activities, and technological phenomena. The film is named for the Sufi word “baraka” meaning blessing, essence or breath.
Oisima’s score will be performed in solo, duo and trio forms, exploring the film’s themes through subharmonics, textures, and melodies.
In this special, intimate performance at The Mill, Naomi Keyte and her band invite you to observe, and be a part of, their creative process. Over two sets, the threads of songwriting, arranging and collaboration will be subtly unpicked and rewoven to bring to life the elements and alchemy of song creation.
Naomi is in the process of making her second full length record and this show will also explore her progression as a songwriter and performer. She will play songs from her debut EP ‘Edge of Morning’, her award nominated record ‘Melaleuca’ as well as new, unreleased songs from her forthcoming album.
Naomi will be joined on stage by her bandmates Felicity Freeman (bass), Tom Kneebone (guitar), Jack Stremple (keys/synth), and Angus Mason (drums), with visuals by George Greatz + Rosina Possingham.
Jen Lush: Song Story Collab 3 Ways Sunday, October 17, 2021
Jen Lush, lover of collaboration with other artists dives into the wonders of the tease and tangle of ideas three ways - through her songwriting with little people, poets and her fellow music makers.
Join Jen solo, and with her band for three short and sweet sets that explore processes and performance, live poetry, and maybe even get your hands dirty on an impromptu collab in the room!
Quartz Pistol AKA Abbey Howlett is a multi-disciplinary artist and performer based in Naarm. Born and raised on Peramangk country, her practice is fuelled by the divine chaos found in nature. As a music producer, instrumentalist, craftswoman and performer Quartz Pistol independently creates a world in which her sonic creations take on a life of their own with the aid of hand crafted props, costume and intuitive performance. Quartz Pistol has independently toured nationally and internationally, performed with artists such as Mo’Ju, Sampa The Great, Nai Palm and more, as well as appeared at renowned music festivals such as WOMADelaide and St Jeromes Laneway Festival.
When: Friday, July 9, 2021, 6:00pm (arrive 5:45pm)
Where: The Mill Breakout, 154 Angas Street
Duration:1 hour including post-show discussion
Cost: Free
Trimates (working title) is inspired by the work of the pioneers of primatology, Drs Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas.
Through a highly physical representation of the great apes, Trimates will explore the different ways that chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans communicate, whilst also telling the stories of the three women who studied them. Using text, movement and mime, this show will explore the parallel lives of the great apes and the pioneering scientists, in a bid to understand our complex relationship with the natural world.
Due to venue capacity restrictions, we ask you only book a ticket if you are able to attend. All attendees must be aware of our hygiene policy before attending our venue.
Jess Clough-MacRae is a British/New Zealand Lecoq-trained performer, director, and movement director currently based in Adelaide. She founded award-winning Clownfish Theatre and has toured their award-winning show Attenborough and his Animals to sell out crowds in Adelaide, Perth and Edinburgh Fringe.
