RiAus stands for (the) Royal Institution of Australia, and they are residents at The Science…read moreExchange which used to be the Adelaide Stock Exchange, so it is a beautiful historic building to start with, and you are welcome to go and wander about checking out its beauty. That's the first bit of great news because the second bit is this is all free so far so good! Now the next bit of great news is that The Science Exchange is a venue you can hire; well actually there are several spaces inside the historic building here you can hire. The Thinking Room, The Theatre, a Science Room - each have a great deal of character and that's just too easy for me to say - you must go and look for yourself. Start by checking out my photographs of the place and you will see what I'm getting at. Talk about a beautiful place! The next (there is more) thing that is truly wonderful is that RiAUS are really concerned about making science and maths and thinking a really cool accessible thing to all people but especially young people. So they hold all sorts of events and happenings and create programs that engage community in a vast array of really fascinating things, and most of the time it costs nothing to be involved or to go and look at whatever it is - check out the knitted or crocheted reef in the photos I took. It has an informative website where you can get a lot more complete detail that will blow your mind. It's blown my mind. I love going in and just wandering around. There is always something wonderful but get involved and you will be really astonished at how truly great it really is. One significant word of warning. The office workers from the surrounding high rise buildings do come down to the courtyard behind The Science Exchange to have their cigarettes, so if you are a non smoker like myself you need to be aware that there's a lot of smokers around the various approach ways from Grenfell Street in particular. Not right outside the RiAUS building directly, but a few meters away at most approach ways; I was horrified to encounter the filthy and stinky smokers chattering away and puffing away at their cancer sticks. A big yuck against the area, but what can you do other than be aware particularly if you are a school teacher bringing kids into RiAUS which wouldn't be an unusual thing. Maybe just case the joint and chose your entry from the street carefully so as not to have to walk in between so many people hell bent on costing the health system and themselves dearly at the whim of a blooming' multinational corporation growing addictive drugs. Just don't smoke folk! Check out RiAUS at The Science Exchange - you will love it. I think if you head in towards it from Pirie Street you are likely to encounter fewer smokers because there are a couple of eating places in the lane way you'd be walking down... just a thought.

Up until 1991 this building was the Adelaide Stock Exchange. Now it's the 'Science Exchange'…read morehousing the RiAus, a charitable science institution. As Dave J. mentions, they host a holy-shit-they're-crazy number of cool events, which are often free to attend. Built in an 'Arts and Crafts' style the building is a fascinating historical nugget of Adelaide. It has a spire. Not on a main road, it's buried between Grenfell and Pirie Streets having been completely boxed in by sky scrappers. Best accessed through a pedestrian path running between the Adelaide City Council and James Place. I saw a local TED Talk (TEDx) here in 2011. It was clear the RiAus was a robust choice of venue; the auditorium felt intimate yet held 150 people or so. The presentations were also live streamed to stragglers in the basement (overflow room) and online. They've succeeded in creating a modern and comfortable environment that works hard to focus the crowd's attention on the speaker, the ideas, etc. A very professional venue. Vivacious website - visit for upcoming events.

If you enjoy outdoor markets, live music, and vegan food, the Marion Peace Markets are for you!…read moreHeld monthly on the lush grounds of the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre, it's a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. It's family and dog (leash) friendly; bring a picnic rug, buy a mug of chai, feast on the well priced food (all under $10) and enjoy the chilled tunes! When I attended on 27/10/12, reggae, roots/blues, and South American (think Mardi Gras!) style drumming was featured. Clothing and a range of arts and crafts were also for sale. A gold coin donation is gently requested by the event organisers to help them cover PA and other essential costs. Pack sunscreen and a hat on a warm day - this is an event best visited during the warmer months. Peace!

Arts SA is the South Australian Government department focused on arts funding and supporting South…read moreAustralian cultural heritage. It is basically where aspiring artists writers performers and such will go searching for some funding to mount their work, production or what have you. They are a typical government department enjoying all the benefits of being able to say they support the arts while handing out money to the same groups year after year sometimes for decades at a time, obviously this means others are missing out somewhere along the line and this is a problem with the way funding is given out. Arts SA, like most government departments also deny having ever made any mistakes, and always behave as though the money only goes where it's deserved, and of course they never have enough money to go around adequately. The great irony of arts funding is that some organisations believe they are entitled to ongoing funding year after year for doing very little or the same old stuff again and again. A prime example is the SA Writers Centre that is making moves to monopolise the whole process of funding for writers by becoming the peak organisation that attracts funding from the federal governments Arts Council as well as Arts SA and yet they have less than 1000 actual members and do very little for them. Most of the writers I know personally will do what they can to avoid the Writers Centre because of the poor reputation it has as an advocate for writers, and yet it receives the largest portion of funding for writers available in the state, and the bulk of this funding pays for office staff not actual creative writers. The office staff are also paid to appraise work by aspiring writers which seems rather odd. To cut a long story short, all you need to do is run at a loss for ten odd years and tell everyone how fabulous you are in order to secure on going funding. Younger artists and writers come along and are either ignored by the establishment who run the show by giving each other all the available work and grants, or they are put off from attending anything because despite the massive amounts of funding they receive to pay staff, the staff seem to do very little at times besides feather their own nests and the nests of their mates. It is quite a contentious area, but they wouldn't say that; they'd say they were working hard for all writers in South Australia (yawn). Another example of the irony in Adelaide is the Leigh Warren Dancers company who every couple of years, after a good decade - have their ongoing funding cut. They kick up a stink in the press, get all their mates to write to their MP and make a lot of noise about how fabulous they are and how they are entitled to ongoing funding, when they never seem to be able to generate an income to sustain them; so in the meantime over a decade a whole lot of other dancers, choreographers etc etc come and go and simply do not get a look in. Yes, it's a very tough game and the public purse gets extended way beyond what is fair or reasonable; to the extent that individuals will purchase their house with their taxpayer provided income while others actually never ever get a single grant to develop a single idea. The Arts SA system decides who gets the funding based on outcomes of peer group reviews of applications that people put in to the department. It can be a frustrating maze that gets you nowhere or it can work for you if you are connected with the right peers and have the right background. Many artists leave South Australia for work elsewhere rather than have to rely on an unpredictable little handout of money here and there while large organisations get the major benefits of triennial funding and spend it as they wish. A lot of people will suggest my opinion is negative and 'blames' Arts SA for the problem, that is not the case. My opinion is based on 40 years of working in the Australian Arts Industry in many genres and at times dealing with large amounts of money delivered to major theatre companies that I have been managing. Arts SA does plenty of good work, but overall the system is badly flawed and it drives artists away from South Australia which is extremely counter productive for all concerned.

I agree with many of the criticisms of Arts SA Dave J. has made, but I've decided to give Arts SA…read morethree stars, because they certainly support plenty of the best South Australian cultural projects out there. While there definitely are some groups who seem to be hanging on to significant amounts funding without doing much new or interesting stuff, Arts SA can't take all the blame for this. Indeed, if the state government saw fit to invest in South Australian talent instead of importing stuff for big festivals, there would be more funding for new and exciting stuff that is grown here in our own independent arts organisations. There are days when I wonder if more arts funding is spent on paperclips than art, but nonetheless Arts SA fund some great stuff - and not all of it has been running for twenty odd years. A few examples of new projects driven by young people that have been partially funded by Arts SA; Format Festival, FELTspace, Ray Harris's amazing aEaf exhibition in 2011 and Amy Joy Watson's Grant Pirrie Sydney exhibition. Arts SA also fund a huge range of excellent community programs, including Cirkidz, Mental Health Coalition and the Riverland Youth Theatre. There is much to be done in the Adelaide arts community, but not all of it can be done by Arts SA. The truth is that many artists leave South Australia, and the lack of excellent independent arts organisations here is a contributing factor. While some of Arts SA's work could be done better, this is also dependent on better policy from the State Government. Despite the issues at play, Arts SA are certainly helping some excellent stuff happen in South Australia.

Hill Smith is an up market commercial gallery located on in the middle of Pirie St in the city…read more It is housed within a beautiful red two story building with large windows at the front and a charismatic black umbrella dome covering the entryway. There are exhibitions more or less monthly, as well as a number of works held in their stockroom which can be accessed on request. Hill Smith represents a number of the better known local and interstate artists, including David Bromley, Robert Hannaford and Nick Harding. Presently on show is the work of Stephen Trebilcock (Main gallery), Janine Mackintosh and Peter Syndicas (First Floor Gallery). I really love Janine's work which consist of something representing Mandalas constructed from various found natural and man made objects. Her work with eucalyptus leaves has an especially appealing aesthetic, the leaves being beautifully preserved and meticulously stitched with linen thread to the canvass. The juxtaposition of rusted man made objects with preserved natural elements also gives the work a musical quality. Syndicas work, exhibited also on the First floor, consisting of sticks cast in iron and bronze, also follows this natural aesthetic but is, in my opinion, less appealing and although certainly difficult to accomplish, less creative. Trebilcock's work, presented in the Main Gallery consists of a series of beautifully painted still lives, vibrant in colour and texture. The few exteriors presented in the body of work appear slightly illustrative and artificial due to an oversaturation of colour which is more suited to the still lives. This detracts slightly from the overall effect. Of particular appeal were the two triptychs, "Australian Selection" and "Oranges and Grapes."

A great range of original artworks, prints, glass, sculpture and jewellery. They also do picture…read moreframing!

Art Images Gallery is situated on the lower end of The Parade, close to the city. In addition to…read morefunctioning as a gallery, Art Images also provides framing and hanging services, as well as art rental and consultancy. Currently on show at Art Images Gallery until Christmas is an epic group show of almost 50 artists of varying styles, backgrounds and competencies. A mixture of painting, sculpture and object based work is on show, nothing outstanding though. I did quite like the paper cut work by Linda Marek which although cute, was well executed and interesting. JoJo Spook also had some interesting abstracted figurative sculptural work constructed from a variety of objects, including something which resembled a baking rack and other kitchen utensils. The works had a primitive tribal feel, and were and interesting application of the mundane media used to implement the work. There were several pieces which were at best kitsch and at worst woefull, although I won't name names. However, the variety of work on show makes it well worth checking out.

Tooth & Nail Gallery had their official opening on 9th December 2011 and long may it reign. Set up…read moreby the talented Jake 1 (otherwise known as Jake Holmes) this gallery space houses a collection of graphic artists, designers and painters who have all graduated from art school in the last few years and are looking to develop their work in a gallery setting. The space is an old shed in the city - well 'shed' as in formally a garage, but now it has been made over to house the studio spaces as well as a deceptively large exhibition area. Keep your eyes on this one folks; they may even be getting some performance art productions from well known blogging writer and actor David Jobling. Yes, it's true. I attended the opening night shin dig at Tooth and Nail and I must say it was a most interesting crowd of individuals who have all clearly got a lot going for them besides their youth and good looks. The art work is a lot of fun (I took a lot of photos so check them out) and it challenges as well as amuses, so get along and check out their work. There are also screen printing services and general printing and graphic design services available so if you are looking for that unusual fresh new look for your business, here is certainly one place worth visiting to find out which of these artists will provide you with a custom made look at a decent price for all. The phone number listed here is the number for Jake; so that's who you will call or leave a message with in order to check if the gallery and studio is open.

After opening the other week, Tooth and Nail is still in its utter infancy stage as a gallery. I…read morechecked it out the other day after hearing about the buzz of their opening party, and found it to be a pretty cool place. The art mostly all comes from local artists, and varies from canvas paintings, to screen prints, to wood paints and hand drawn pieces. All of it's on sale and you can grab the price list on the way in if you're inclined to collect. One cool thing about this art gallery (and perhaps a smart move economically speaking) is that the area that isn't used for exhibiting new work is rented out to artists to make more art. When I went in there were a few folks beetling away upstairs on their work, and was a sweet novelty to be checking out great art while more of it's being made just metres away from you. There's no official opening hours for Tooth and Nail but I was told there's normally someone working away somewhere indoors and they keep the place open. My advice would be to head in the late morning or afternoon to catch it open.

What a dangerous shop this is. I was next door drinking gin at the Howling Owl and thought I'd pop…read morein for 5 minutes... you know, just for "a look". Next thing I know, I've bought two fantastic necklaces and I'm having to resist a third. So much for saving money this month! There's so many great things in this store and what impressed me most was that all the designers and artists are from South Australia which is an absolutely terrific way to showcase what this state has to offer. A great place to buy an unusual and charming gift.

Have you been searching for the place to find the "Heaps Good" t-shirts? Search no more, this is…read moreit! An amazing range of really beautiful original artwork is housed here ready for you to buy up big! Gloriously witty, downright sexy and incredibly well done from simple little cards through to rather complicated objects; dinner plates, cups, ear rings, prints, nick knack's... it is all here and the best thing about it all, this is South Australian through and through. It's not that they don't like artworks from any of the other states, it's just that there are some people who want to do the 'buy local' thing when it comes to spending their money, and they want to support local artists, and believe me South Australia has lots of them. There are so many artists creating so much work here that you will find quite a few stores and galleries that only have South Australian work in them; this is certainly one of them. I wouldn't say there was a particular style in this part of the country, but I would say the standard is very high, and the prices are pretty reasonable. It's not so cheap you imagine the artist has no self worth, but nor is it priced out of every-ones range. The women looking after the counter tell me that the hottest seller is the original t-shirt with "Heaps Good" written over a map of South Australia, and it's popular because it reflects the sort of vernacular used here - South Australians don't really speak all that well, but maybe I'll get run out of town if I say that (!) so perhaps I should settle for saying "Heaps Good" is a way we express ourselves with a little touch of wry humour? Urban Cow do have a website and it is worth checking out. I'm informed that you can rest assured the artists do get the best part of what you pay for their work, and no, it's not all prints and paintings; like I said, there are plenty of things including sculptures, textiles, ceramics, glassware and odd, silly things to delight anyone who likes a nice bit of art. They say "Every picture is worth a thousand words," so I went mad taking quite a few pictures, if you check them out you will come up with the thousands of words that my pictures will inspire in you rather than me attempt to describe everything I saw (and loved). The friendly staff will gladly let you browse without charging you an entry fee, even though the shop feels as much like a gallery as it does a unique gift shop. Enjoy browsing and good luck deciding what to buy. From what I hear, the "Heaps Good" t-shirts are the strongest item, but you be the judge.

Amazing aboriginal works - well worth a visit!! Have…read morepurchased many works over the years and have never been disappointed!!

Indigenu is a small art gallery dedicated to promoting Aboriginal art and culture. Originally…read morestarted in Tony Straccia home, his art collection has since got too big and decided it was time to move them to the city, so that they can be viewed and sold. Tony has a passion for Aboriginal art work and has been collecting their works of more than a decade. During these times he had developed strong relationships with artists and is able to purchases their works directly, and arranges it to seen in exhibitions and events. Many of the proceeds from these events are sent back to support the artists and their families. As part of the Yelp's SALA walking tour I came here to have a look at some of the art work. I don't have a passion for any type of art work, to me Aboriginal art work is just of bunch of colourfully dots that has been place to form some kind of weird image, and there is usually some story behind the image. Having said that, there are people have a passion for these fine art works and are willing to spend their disposable income on these printings. If anyone asks me where is a good place to purchase Aboriginal work I would recommend this place. Tony also has a catering service. You should try his chocalate brownies with wattle seed, they are very delicious!