Samstag Museum of Art

ARTIST PROFILE / After moving from Poland to Australia as a young boy, Kuba Dorabialski began speaking a new language — not English, but Broken English. ‘Broken English is My Mother Tongue’ explores the way in which language becomes an integral part of our identity. Words, syntax, grammar… they shape the way we think and the way we express ourselves. Dorabialski reflects on the moment he first heard himself speaking English as an adult who had been living in Australia for many years: “…I was horrified; this time by the sound of my voice. It sounded so foreign to me. So Anglo-Australian. I had dropped my guard somewhere along the way and my Broken English had given way to an Art School Anglo-Aussie English with hints of Westie. It took a while to recover from this shock and I momentarily stopped performing my work. After a while it became apparent to me that the only way to reclaim my voice was to return to my mother tongue: Broken English.” - Kuba Dorabialski, artist’s website ‘Broken English is My Mother Tongue’ is on display as part of Direct, Directed, Directly at Samstag Museum of Art until 30 May 2025.   University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia @kubadora 📸 1. Kuba DORABIALSKI, Broken English is My Mother Tongue, 2020. Installation view, Direct, Directed, Directly at Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia, 2025. Photograph by @siaduff 2. Kuba DORABIALSKI, Broken English is My Mother Tongue, 2020. Installation view, Direct, Directed, Directly at Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia, 2025. Video recording.

PARNATI LAUNCH / Please join us as we launch our 2025 Adelaide Festival exhibition: 'Direct, Directed, Directly'. Across the museum, we bring together performance, moving image, installation and sound to probe the complexities of communication in our contemporary world. Featuring works by: Richard Bell (Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang) / Madison Bycroft (AU) / Kuba Dorabialski (AU) / Danielle Freakley (AU/SC) / Christine Sun Kim (US) and Thomas Mader (DE) / Monte Masi (AU) / Chunxiao Qu (CN/AU) Thursday 27 February, 5—7 pm Samstag Museum of Art FREE All welcome Registrations encouraged 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gHfnMzYM This exhibition will be audio described. Adelaide University University Art Museums Australia (UAMA) Adelaide Festival 📸 Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, Tables from Tables and Windows, 2016. Still from video, two channel video, 9 min 14 sec. Courtesy of the Artist, François Ghebaly (Los Angeles / New York) and WHITE SPACE (Beijing).

PARNATI / Direct, Directed, Directly This season, Samstag takes communication — speaking directly, speaking indirectly, looking for meaning, double meanings and breakdowns — as a point of creative departure ✍️💬🤷 Installed across the two levels of Samstag Museum, 'Direct, Directed, Directly' draws together Australian and international artists working across performance, moving image, installation and sound. The exhibition dives into the gap between what is said and what is heard. Ranging from the theatrical to the philosophical, the works invoke gesture, translation and language to broach the difficulties of communicating. How do we say what we need to say, and who’s listening? Are we making sense? What’s the point in trying? Communication is a two-way process that can succeed, sometimes, but can also fail spectacularly. 'Direct, Directed, Directly' is an exhibition that believes, amid the inherent frustration, futility and misunderstandings, there is catharsis to be found in the humour and absurdity of our attempts to connect. Featuring works by Richard Bell (Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang) / Madison Bycroft / Kuba Dorabialski / Danielle Freakley / Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader / Monte Masi / Chunxiao Qu Friday 28 February — Friday 30 May 2025 University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA)

2025 PROGRAM / Insightful. Thoughtful. Provocative. Announcing our 2025 exhibition program 📣 PARNATI SEASON Friday 28 February — Friday 30 May 2025 Direct, Directed, Directly Richard Bell (Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang) / Madison Bycroft / Kuba Dorabialski / Danielle Freakley / Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader / Monte Masi / Chunxiao Qu KUDLILA SEASON Friday 20 June — Friday 26 September 2025 Frank Bauer Frank Bauer / a major exhibition of metal and light works North Terrace: worlds in relief Andrew Burrell / the ArcHitects (Gary Carsley and Renjie Teoh) / Allison Chhorn / Louise Haselton / with poetry by Natalie Harkin (Narungga) Guest curated by Jasmin Stephens WIRLTUTI SEASON Friday 17 October — Friday 5 December 2025 Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy: Psychopomp and selected works Sean Cordeiro / Claire Healy 5 STEPS FOR BETTER LIVING, MAXIMUM GAINS AND MANIFESTING YOUR MOST OPTIMISED SELF!! Nisa East / Anna Lindner / Yasemin Sabuncu Ryan Presley Ryan Presley (Marri Ngarr) / selected paintings Visit our website for more details and join the mailing list to keep up to date about upcoming exhibitions and events. University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA) 📸 1: 2025 Exhibition Program Tile. 2: Chunxiao Qu, An artist doesn’t need a label, 2024, Borchardt Library, La Trobe University, Melbourne. La Trobe Art Institute, Bendigo. Photograph by AJ Taylor. Image courtesy the artist. 3: Frank Bauer, Flagpole, 2024, Goodwood. Photograph by Sia Duff. Image courtesy Samstag Museum of Art. 4: Louise Haselton, production still, 2024. Image courtesy the artist. 5: Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy, Psychopomp, 2024, production still. Image courtesy the artists. 6: Nisa East, Anna Lindner and Yasemin Sabuncu, 5 STEPS FOR BETTER LIVING, MAXIMUM GAINS AND MANIFESTING YOUR MOST OPTIMISED SELF!!, 2024, production still. Image courtesy the artists. 7: Ryan Presley, Lucid dream (The fair game), detail, 2024, Oil on polyester. Two panels, 152 x 370 cm overall. Photography by Carl Warner. Image courtesy the Artist and Milani Gallery, Meanjin, Brisbane.

THAT'S A WRAP / It has come to that time of year again for everyone to exhale and turn our minds to celebrations. What a year it's been! After pandemic and flood, we were finally able to reopen with a fantastic lineup of exhibitions and the response was amazing. Thank you once again to everyone who contributed to Samstag's programming this year and to all who visited our exhibitions and events. The Samstag team will take a short break to participate in some summer rest and recreation, returning to the office in early January. Best wishes for the holiday season. We can't wait to do it all again in 2025 🎉 University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA) 📸 Sia Duff Archie MOORE, Dwelling (Adelaide Issue), 2024. Mixed media installation with moving image, commissioned by Samstag and the Adelaide Film Festival. Installation view at Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia, 2024. Photography by Sia Duff.

WIRLTUTI / Fresh from his success at the Venice Biennale of Art, where he took out the Golden Lion, Samstag Scholar Archie Moore (Bigambul/Kamilaroi) was the subject of a feature exhibition for our Wirltuti exhibitions which opened in October. A co-commission with the Adelaide Film Festival, ‘Dwelling (Adelaide Issue)’ ambitiously involved recreating Archie’s childhood home to scale. Upstairs, the recipients of the Adelaide Film Festival’s EXPAND Lab: Susan Norrie (NSW), Matthew Thorne (SA) and Emmaline Zanelli (SA) presented a trio of moving image works on the critically unexamined subject of mining in South Australia. The season launch was an affair not to be missed. The drinks were flowing, popcorn popping and vinyl spinning.  We even joined the erudite Djon Mundine in a heartfelt serenade to Archie Moore – it doesn’t get more epic than that! Finally, it was with great pleasure that we announced artists Henry Jock Walker (SA), Helen Grogan (VIC), and Hannah Gartside (VIC)as the recipients of the prestigious Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship for 2025. We wish them all the best for what will no doubt be a transformative experience.   University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA) Adelaide Film Festival 🎥 Raw footage courtesy of Lewis Brideson

KUDLILA / Our Kudlila season exhibitions this year featured a strong sense of place. Foregrounding the art of the Flinders Ranges, ‘Mulka Yata/The Knowledge of Place’ showcased the carving practice of Kristian Coulthard, Ted Coulthard, Clem Coulthard and Winnie Ryan (Adnyamathanha) and included works by Sasha Grbich, Antony Hamilton, Kyoko Hashimoto and Guy Keulemans and John R Walker. Complementing the gentle sonic experience of that exhibition was a choir experience in a moving image work by Indonesia’s premiere contemporary artist, FX Harsono. Expanding on this season’s soundscape, Dylan Crismani (Wiradjuri/European) performed ‘Barraabarraa (make a rushing noise)’ a hypnotic musical composition played on the musical instrument/sculpture he created with his father, Christopher, for ‘Mulka Yata’. University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA) 📸 1, 3-5: Mulka Yata/The Knowledge of Place, 2024, installation view, Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia. Photograph by Sia Duff. 2: Smoking Ceremony with senior Kaurna man Michael Kumatpi Marrutya O’Brien. Photograph by Sia Duff. 6: FX Harsono: NAMA, 2024, Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia. Photograph by Sia Duff. 7: Dylan Crismani (Wiradjuri/European) performing Barraabarraa (make a rushing noise). Photograph by Sia Duff.

PARNATI / In partnership with the Adelaide Festival, our first exhibitions of the year brought together leading South Australian ceramicist Bruce Nuske with exhibition design by friend and regular collaborator of the artist, renowned furniture designer, Khai Liew. A singular achievement, it was sorrowful not to share the exhibition with Liew, who sadly passed away before its unveiling. Paired with two moving image works and a breathtaking installation of tessellated sand by Dana Awartani (Saudi Arabia/Palestine), the Partnati season reflected on tradition, culture and the generative field of decorative arts. University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA) @brucenuske @danaawartanistudio 📸 1.Dana AWARTANI, I Went Away and Forgot You. A While Ago I Remembered. I Remembered Iʼd Forgotten You. I Was Dreaming, 2017, installation view, 2024, Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia. Photograph by Sia Duff. 2. Bruce NUSKE, Bruce Nuske with Khai Liew, 2024, installation view, Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia. Photograph by Grant Hancock. 3. Samstag Museum of Art 2024 Parnati season launch, 2024, Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia. Photograph by Sia Duff.

SEASON’S GREETINGS / As 2024 comes to a close, we would like to express our warmest gratitude to everyone that has contributed to Samstag this year. Participating artists, writers, visitors, colleagues, friends, program partners, and industry collaborators—we could not have done any of it without you. It was the first year in many that nothing went terribly wrong—no pandemic, no flood—touch wood our good fortune continues into the coming year. Season’s greetings art lovers. We look forward to welcoming you back in February 2025 for our gallery wide Adelaide Festival exhibition 'Direct, Directed, Directly'. In the meantime, join us as we reflect on the year that has been... University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA)

ARCHIE MOORE / “The front of the house was fibro and full of holes. The areas that were painted, many years ago, were cracked with each brittle fragment curled up from baking in the hot sun. There were rusty, metal gauze windows and any one side of the structure would sink further into the filled-in melon hole every time there was a substantial downpour. You could see if anyone was home by looking through an irregular-shaped hole in the front door. This hole produced some magic one day. Splashing into the dark, soiled, fibro living-room wall was all this colour and movement. When I got closer I could see that it was the outside world projected upside down. I didn’t know what a camera obscura was, nor had I ever been to a cinema, so I sat and watched this free movie for a while, fascinated by how it came to be there. Something to adore.” — Archie Moore Moore, Archie. “Welcome.” Exhibition catalogue. Archie Moore 1970 - 2018, 8-9. Brisbane: Griffith University Art Museum. March 8 – April 21, 2018. University of South Australia University Art Museums Australia (UAMA) @beingnarly [Video Description: an upside down view of the outside world – A hazy reflection of the traffic travelling along North Terrace – is projected onto a black wall via a hole in the opposite wall.]