workshop, masterclass series, public program

Masterclass: Talking about Guitars with Jordan Reynolds this SALA

Adele Sliuzas ·

Photo: Daniel Marks

When: Sunday, August 29, 2021, 10am-1pm

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 information page.

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.

This program has support from

 
BankSA-Foundation-Logo.jpg
 

workshop, masterclass series, public program

Masterclass: Build your own ceramic oil burner with Ari Menendez this SALA

Adele Sliuzas ·

Photo: Chloe Metcalfe

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 information page.

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.

This program has support from

 
BankSA-Foundation-Logo.jpg
 

public program, workshop, masterclass series

Masterclass: Crafting Guitars with Jordan Reynolds this SALA

Adele Sliuzas ·

Photo: Daniel Marks

When: Saturday, August 21, 2021, 10:30am-3:30pm

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 information page.

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.

This program has support from

 
BankSA-Foundation-Logo.jpg
 

virtual gallery

Virtual Gallery: ‘Stitch and Resist’ with Centre of Democracy

chloe metcalfe ·

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.

Below Images: Morgan Sette

Image: Deco Photography.

Image: Deco Photography.

Artist statement

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.

masterclass series, public program

OzAsia Masterclass: Choreography, Composition & Collaboration with Yui Kawaguchi and Alison Currie

chloe metcalfe ·

Photographer: Rudolf Sagmeister & Sam Roberts

When: Friday, October 15, 2021, 4pm-5:30pm
(please arrive 15 minutes early to sign in and warm up)

Where: AC Arts, Rehearsal Studio, Level  3, 23 Light Square, Kaurna Yarta (Adelaide) 

Cost: $25 + booking fees

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.

 
 

spotlight residency, public program, theatre residency

Breakout Residencies: Bureau d’Exchange public showing

chloe metcalfe ·

Showing and Q&A

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.

We encourage attendees to also book for our Bureau d'Exchange Artist Talk on Friday, August 13 at 5pm.

  • 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.

This project has support from

 
 

public program, gallery I

Exhibition: Centre of Democracy, 'Stitch and Resist'

Adele Sliuzas ·

Image: Karen Blackwood, I'm Really Quite Cross

July 2 - August 6, 2021

Opening event: July 2, 5:30-7:30pm

‘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.

 
COD HTSA SA Gov logos BW 3.png
 

This exhibition has support from

 
BankSA-Foundation-Logo.jpg
 

virtual gallery

Virtual Gallery: Quartz Pistol, Umbrella Festival 2021

chloe metcalfe ·

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.

DOP/producer: Joli Vision

Second Camera: Will Hamilton-Coates

Set design: Abbey Howlett

Costume: Abbey Howlett

BTS shots: Back2back Media

This project has support from

 
 

spotlight residency, breakout showing, dance residency

Breakout Residencies: Thomas Fonua, MAMA

chloe metcalfe ·

Private showing

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.

This project has support from

 
 

public program, free-range residency, theatre residency

Breakout Residencies: Jess Clough-MacRae showing, 'Trimates'

chloe metcalfe ·

Photo: Jess Clough-MacRae & Jonathan Tilley 'Attenborough & His Animals'. Credit: Toby Jeffries.

Showing and Q&A

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.

This project has support from

 
 


dance launchpad

Dance Launchpad: Announcing the 2022 choreographers

chloe metcalfe ·

Dance Launchpad is a professional development program designed to support emerging dancers to build experience in the professional industry, by working with local South Australian choreographers.

The Mill is excited to announce Amanda Phillips and Tobiah Booth-Remmers as the commissioned choreographers for this year’s program.

The inaugural program, was presented by The Mill with Helpmann Academy and supported by Dance Hub SA, Hopgood Theatre and Cirkidz, and in 2022 the program is supported by venue partners ADT and Dance Hub SA.

  • Amanda Phillips is the Artistic Director of Dance Hub SA and the Creative producer of the production house, Felicity Arts. 

    She holds a Masters of Dance majoring in Choreography from the Laban Centre and is both a Churchill Fellow and Centennial Medallist, and has received numerous accolades for her work including a Ruby Award for Innovation. 

    Amanda has an international career as an independent Director, Choreographer, Digital Media Artist, Film-maker, Mentor, Educator and Producer across stage, screen and events. Hailed as a “Mastermind”, her ground-breaking work is described as “the new deal arts-wise at its mesmerising best”. Her repertoire has been presented worldwide including the works Chinese Whispers; subliminal translation; Agent of Language; Look Left: Not Right; Solo Reflections and Dance Between Worlds 432: dance, music and real-time visuals at world heritage site Naracoorte Caves National Park - a collaboration between Sacred Resonance and Felicity Arts. 

    Amanda has created a significant body of visual sonic and art-technology projects with collaborator Alexander Waite Mitchell that are attributed to pioneering Australian creative firsts across the performing and visual arts arenas, including: Otanical - the mixed reality fairytale; Like yesterday – mixed reality omnipresent monologue and physical soliloquy; The 9-channel interactive installation Mid-life love letters; The iconic Bank Street (DPTI Commission) interactive public art work MASS - Moving Audience Street Sculpture; Future Memory - Australia's first fulldome dance production; and the revolutionary 3xperimentia: Live Cut in 3D.

  • Tobiah Booth-Remmers is a freelance dance creator, performer, teacher and facilitator from Adelaide, Australia. He has worked with Garry Stewart, Graeme Murphy, Branch Nebula, Brink Productions, Larissa McGowan, Lina Limosani, Gabrielle Nankivell and Paulo Castro among many others. Tobiah has performed in major arts festivals including the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Adelaide Festival of the Arts, Brisbane Festival, WOMAD, Dance Massive, Dublin Dance Festival and has performed at the Barbican Centre in London.

    As a dance maker Tobiah has choreographed numerous commissioned and self-produced works, including large immersive, site specific and more traditional format performances. Tobiah has lectured and taught dance to students at Adelaide College of the Arts, LINK, WAAPA, QUT, Transit Dance and at SDC Pre-Professional Year.

    Tobiah also regularly works overseas and has received residencies and made work in Bulgaria, Brussels, Sweden and Greece. He has taught workshops on his own creative and movement practice in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, France, Israel and Mexico.

gallery II, public program, holly childs

Exhibition : Holly Childs, 'Reality Winner'

chloe metcalfe ·

July 2 - August 6, 2021

Opening: Friday, July 2, 5:30pm

Where: The Exhibition Space, The Mill, 154 Angas Street

Cost: Free

Join us for the launch of Holly’s exhibition Reality Winner, the outcome of work produced during her sponsored studio residency at The Mill. Reality Winner opens alongside Stitch and Resist on Friday July 2, followed by an artist talk with Holly in conversation with The Mill’s Visual Arts Curator Adele Sliuzas date now TBC in July.

  • Language falls asleep in dreams. Reality Winner is the name of an NSA contractor convicted under the Espionage Act for leaking a report about Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Salvador Dali was kicked out of the surrealist movement for being too surreal. Post-rational author and consultant Venkatesh Rao defines “surreal” as “underflowing with life”, as in, there isn’t enough life force to go around, but “underflowing” also has a specific meaning in computation when a value is smaller than a computer can compute. Venkatesh: "Dreams *are* an underflowing-with-life state since they occur in sleeping bodies capable of much higher flows when awake". This exhibition contains materials derived and reworked from exhibitions, performances and collaborations that I contributed to but that I could not attend "in real life" due to the pandemic and associated travel bans.

  • Holly Childs is a writer and artist. Her research involves filtering stories of computation through frames of ecology, earth, memory, poetry, and light. In 2020, she was an associate artist at Jacuzzi dance space, Amsterdam; and alongside Gediminas Žygus she released Hydrangea (Subtext), an album exploring narrative fracture and reality bubbles. She is the author of two books: No Limit (Hologram) and Danklands (Arcadia Missa), and is a former Gertrude Contemporary studio holder (Melbourne), an alumna of The New Normal (Media, Architecture and Design) programme at Strelka Institute, Moscow, and she holds a Masters in Film, Design and Politics from Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam. She has been in residence at Arcadia Missa (London), RM (Auckland), Firstdraft (Sydney), Rupert (Vilnius), and DAR (Druskininkai). She is currently writing her third book, What Causes Flowers Not to Bloom?; teaching in the Graphic Design department at Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam; and developing Cliffhanger, a text, installation, and choreographic collaboration with Angela Goh.

Image courtesy of the artist

virtual gallery

Virtual Gallery: Thomas Readett, ‘Complexities’

chloe metcalfe ·

The Mill is excited to present Complexities, a solo exhibition by artist Thomas Readett. This new body of work uses self-portraiture as a medium for exploring the complexities of contemporary life. Thomas’ self-exploration and personal narratives become opportunities to reflect the wider world, through themes of love, loss, and grief.

Image: Thomas Readett in front of works from his Complexities exhibition (photo: Morgan Sette)

My love of video games and thinking games has driven the development of these works, using these games as a conduit to describe the complexities of connection and reflection. Using a small and technical object known as the Rubik's cube as the starting point, the original thinking game. My Rubik’s cube speaks to the pixel like painted snapshots on the walls and creates an environment to explore and contemplate life, connection, and love.

⏤ Thomas Readett

Artist statement

Perception is a fundamental trait of the creative mind. It allows us to interpret ideas differently to others, bring fresh ideas but also brings a different set of mental and social processes. These processes mean that we have deep and empathetic connections to people and the world around us.

Complexities explores how convoluted the creative mind can be. In this abstracted self-portrait body of work I reflect on the importance of self-expression and how overwhelming the world, life and relationships can be without it. In the world’s current climate all aspects of life have been more challenging than usual, using a form of self-expression has never been more important and, for me, it has become compulsory.

Image: Thomas Readett in conversation with Adele Sliuzas (Photo: Morgan Sette)

public program, emerging producer 2021

Gabrielle Nankivell - Premiere ‘Future History’

chloe metcalfe ·

Performance

When: Friday, July 2, and Saturday, July 3, 2021, 7:30pm

Where: Australian Dance Theatre, The Odeon, 57a Queen St, Norwood

Cost: $30 + booking fees

Future History began as a research project to investigate the influence of personal history and artistic lineage on the way we work and the art we make. From this a strategy for collaborative devising was developed and the raw material for this new solo was born. An award-winning team including, Australian artists Luke Smiles, Martin del Amo, Kristina Chan and Joshua Thomson along with international artists Rasmus Ölme and Vania Vaneau have contributed to this collaboratively devised work.

Weaving notions personal and universal, Future History reflects the precarious nature of the human body and the natural world. The work manifests the cyclic quality of global uncertainty throughout time in response to threat – conflict, epidemic, escalating climate events – and illuminates the vulnerability and resilience implicit in life on earth.

Although conceived and developed long before the spectre of COVID-19 entered the scene, this project and the conversations it provokes feels decidedly urgent when facing our current predicament as artists and a society. 

A new ritual. 

Melancholic resolution. Unresolved continuance. Grieving something we haven't yet lost. Losing something we only just have a sense of. An endless oscillation between hope and despair, fear and courage, past and future, life and death.

Credits

Made by Gabrielle Nankivell in collaboration with Luke Smiles, Martin del Amo, Kristina Chan, Joshua Thomson, Rasmus Ölme and Vania Vaneau, with contributions by Harriet Oxley and Meg Wilson.

Supporters

The creative development of this work has been generously supported by:

The Government of South Australia Arts South Australia, Australian Dance Theatre’s International Centre for Choreography, The Mill’s Emerging Producer Xchange, Stockholm University of the Arts, Lieues Lyon and Legs on the Wall.

This project has support from

 
 

engage

Engage: Announcing the 2021 NSW Development Project recipient

chloe metcalfe ·

The Mill in Partnership with Critical Path (Sydney) has selected South Australian Dance Artist Andrew Barnes to attend a series of two consecutive development projects in Lismore, NSW. Andrew was our 2020 Engage recipient to Dancehouse Melbourne and this second opportunity is an extension of The Mill’s support towards his career as an emerging choreographer.

Andrew will be supported with $3000 from The Mill to cover the following: Artist Bursary, Travel to and Accomodation in Lismore NSW.

  • Andrew Barnes hailing from Adelaide suburbia, completed his Bachelor of Arts at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2017 majoring in Ballet, and went on to participate in LINK Dance Company under the directorship of Michael Whaites in 2018, during that year he decided to make the switch to the dark side (contemporary dance).  After the year with LINK Andrew worked with Lewis Major Productions in a development and research period.

    Andrew is a founding member of Syndicate Performance, an independent movement collective in Perth and in 2017 he choreographed and performed in a work developed for the Perth Fringe Festival curated with Syndicate. Andrew has also danced with Motus Collective, an independent collective based in Adelaide, and performed at the Australian Dance Theatres ‘Rough Draft’ season in 2019 and performed through Vital Statistix in their program ‘Adhocracy’.

    Andrew is currently working on and off with the likes of Lina Limosani and Lewis Major. In the coming year, Andrew is looking forward to reigning in his artistic values and interests, whether it’s creating dance works for stage and galleries or developing and sharing workshops for different festivals and people throughout Australia.

Photo 1 and 3: Alexander Waite Mitchell

dance launchpad, public program

Dance Launchpad: Audition EOI 2021

chloe metcalfe ·

Presented by The Mill supported by venue partners ADT, and Dance Hub SA.

Dance Launchpad is a professional development program designed to support emerging contemporary dancers to build experience in the professional industry, by working with local South Australian choreographers. The program nurtures the ecology of dance in SA is supported by venue partners ADT and Dance Hub SA.

The program will commission two established choreographers, to share their wealth of industry knowledge with four emerging dance artists. Choreographers will be announced mid-end June 2021.

The outcome will be the creation of two choreographic works each performed by four selected dancers, presented in a double bill performance platform at ADT’s Odeon Theatre. 

The choreography will be filmed by a professional videographer to create a ‘showreel’ for each dancer to showcase their skills nationally and internationally, promoting future employment.

The successful dancers will be selected through EOI process & Audition at Dance Hub SA in July 2021.

Dance Launchpad has been postponed until May 2022.

Dance Launchpad has been generously supported by Australian Dance Theatre.

Photo Credit: Chris Herzfeld Imagery

Audition details

When: Sunday July 18, 1pm - 4pm 

Where: Dance Hub SA, Lion Arts Centre, Cnr Morphett St & North Tce, Kaurna Yerta

Dance Launchpad Rehearsal Dates: 

Stage 1: 1 week rehearsals at ADT Odeon Theatre

Stage 2: 2 weeks rehearsals at ADT Odeon Theatre

Additional after hours rehearsals at Dance Hub SA outside rehearsal blocks (TBC)

Performance details

Dance Launchpad Performance Dates: May 20 and 21, 2022

Performance Venue: ADT Odeon Theatre.

Audition criteria

  • You must be an emerging South Australian contemporary dancer, trained in tertiary dance institution. (not limited to SA tertiary dance institutions)

  • You must be available for the rehearsal and performance periods outlined.

  • You must be aware this program is a professional development opportunity where dancers receive industry experience, profiling and a professional show reel. It is not a paid opportunity.

Please email your EOI including the following information to director@themilladelaide.com : 

  • Your CV

  • Up to 200 words about why this professional development experience will be valuable for you at this time of your professional career.

EOI Due Date: Monday, July 12.

Notification: EOIs will be notified on receipt of their application.

public program, gallery I, gallery II

Exhibition: The Mill Showcase at Fleurieu Arthouse

Adele Sliuzas ·

Photo: Morgan Sette

June 5 – 27, 2021

Opening: Sunday, June 20, 2pm

When: Fleurieu Arthouse, Hardys Tintara, Kaurna Yarta, 202 Main Road, McLaren Vale

Cost: Free

The Mill Showcase is an exhibition series dedicated to artists who work in The Mill’s studio spaces on Angas Street, Adelaide. The exhibition includes artworks and products that have been produced under our roof by incredible artisans. This touring edition of The Mill Showcase brings a selection of our artists to McLaren Vale, so that we can share their practice with you!

This edition of The Mill Showcase features work by Blake Canham-Bennett, Steel Chronis, Amber Cronin, Andrew Eden, Matea Gluscevic, Evie Hassiotis, Yana Lehey, Kirsty Martinsen and Kate O’Callaghan, curated by Adele Sliuzas

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virtual gallery

Virtual Gallery: Cinematic Experiments

chloe metcalfe ·

Cinematic Experiments was a 10-day professional development project, presented by The Mill in partnership with artist Margie Medlin and Mercury CX, funded by Arts South Australia.

In response to creatives pushing further into exploring digital spaces, this intensive workshop challenged a mixed cohort of dance, performance, film and design artists to explore the development of interdisciplinary, hybrid and digital platforms. The stimulating, experiment-based structure built digital technologies skills for participating artists and ignited new ways of thinking and practicing. 

The partnership between The Mill and Mercury CX reflected the labs interdisciplinary aspirations.

Below you will find some of the images and videos captured during this project.

brink theatre residency, free-range residency, spotlight residency, theatre residency, dance residency

Breakout Residencies 2021: Announcing the successful recipients

chloe metcalfe ·

Spotlight Residencies: Bureau d’Exchange

 
 

Bureau d’Exchange is an immersive and entertaining cross-disciplinary art work set in a shop like installation. Here, the performers are shopkeepers engaging with the public through interactive story telling.

Participants are presented with an odd assortment of items. Similar to the idea of the readymade, this work takes commonplace objects and elevates them to the status of valuable commodities. The audience is invited into the ‘shop’ to browse, followed by a thought-provoking and enjoyable experience of exchange. The valuing and exchanging of goods is guided through the emotional attachment and associated narratives to the objects, posing questions about economic structure and the relationship to possessions.

About the artists:

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

Cynthia has exhibited and performed throughout Europe, South Africa and Australia, been recipient of grants and residencies from Austrian and Australian government bodies. She has completed commissions for Australian councils, including the City of Sydney, City of Unley, and City of Port Adelaide Enfield. 

Schwertsik holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts and a Dance Diploma.

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, 

Along with theatre director, Tessa Leong, and visual artist. James Dodd, Emma founded the Australian Bureau of Worthiness, a residency model that creates theatre from interviews conducted with people on the street. She spent a two-year residency with immersive theatre company Carte Blanche in Denmark.

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.

Alavi graduated from a Master of Visual Arts at the University of South Australia in 2016 and a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) in 2013, and has exhibited at Mohsen Gallery (Tehran), Firstdraft (Sydney), Robert Kananaj (Toronto), IFA (Kabul),  Chapter House Lane (Melbourne), UTS gallery (Sydney) as well as Ace Open, Felt Space, Nexus Arts, CACSA Project Space (all Adelaide). He is the recipient of a 2019 Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship. 

Valerie Berry is an actor, performance maker and emerging director. Throughout her practice, she has focused on collaborative and interdisciplinary processes. She has worked with, CAAP for Sydney Festival and Asia Topa, 2020 (Double Delicious), Yana Taylor (Leading is Following is Leading, Liveworks Festival 2020), National Theatre of Parramatta (Swallow, 2016) and Directed (Let Me Know When You get Home, 2021), CuriousWorks (One of the mentors for the Beyond Refuge Program), Polyglot Theatre (Paper Planet: Sydney and Norway), Theatre Kantanka, Urban Theatre Projects, Belvoir, Branch Nebula, Performance Space, Sydney Theatre Company and Performing Lines (Tour Germany and Adelaide Festival, Ur/Faust; and National tour of The Folding Wife). 

In Adelaide, Valerie is an Associate Artist at ActNow Theatre and works as a facilitator, coordinator, lead artist and performer for their Theatre of the Global Majority program, and wrote and performed in The Decameron 2.0 project. She has worked with Cynthia Schwertsik (In My Name); Vitalstatistix (Game of I-Lands) Adhocracy 2020 and (Border Crossers) Adhocracy 2017; and with OSCA for the SUE Project.

Spotlight Residencies: Thomas Fonua

 
 

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.

Free-range Residencies: Jess Clough-MacRae

 
 

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. 

About the artist:

Jess Clough-MacRae is a British/New Zealand performer, director, and movement director currently based in Adelaide. She studied at the University of East Anglia, the Bristol Old Vic Made in Bristol Programme and the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.

She founded award-winning Clownfish Theatre and has toured their show Attenborough and his Animals in Australia, the UK and Europe, with sell out runs in Adelaide, Perth and Edinburgh Fringe. Attenborough and his Animals won a weekly award for Best Theatre at Adelaide Fringe 2021. Jess is also a member of award-winning Cut Mustard Theatre and has recently performed with Tessa Bide Productions.

Jess was the assistant director on the Bristol Old Vic’s recent production of Cyrano and associate movement director on The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare’s Globe and Touching the Void at the Bristol Old Vic.

Jess is an experienced theatre practitioner and has run workshops for children, teens, and adults, in schools in the UK and Australia and for the Bristol Old Vic Young Company, the Theatre Royal Bath and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Free-range Residencies: Lucy Haas-Hennessy

 
 

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.

About the artist:

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.

Free-range Residencies: Samuel Hall

 
 

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 utilize 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. 

About the artist:

Samuel 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. 

Brink Productions Theatre Residency: Jo Zealand

 
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Staged at Adelaide Fringe 2021, Jo Zealand presented the first stage development of ‘The Circle Show’, an interactive performance piece blending music, comedy, clowning, and dance. The work explores awareness of self; inviting the audience to connect with their true nature through creative play.

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. 

About the artist:

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.

masterclass series

Call Out: Critical Path and NORPA, Development Project for South Australian Dance Artist

chloe metcalfe ·

The Mill in partnership with Critical Path (Sydney) is offering a position for one South Australian dance artist, to attend a series of two consecutive development projects in Lismore, NSW.

The successful recipient will be supported with $3,000 from The Mill to cover artist bursary, travel to and accomodation in Lismore, NSW. We encourage regional practitioners and those connected to the Northern Rivers area to apply.

Practice Articulation Workshop
July 17 to 19

Artists will explore and share where they find themselves in their practice now, their connections and responsibilities to community, and work to explore how they represent their work (in text, image and when speaking about it) along with what they communicate with others. Finally, they will look at how they can support each other to take their respective practices forward.Claire Hicks, the director of Critical Path will be facilitating the agreed framework for the program, with other guest artists, working together to roll out the activities together across the three days. 

Practitioner Gathering - Northern Rivers
July 23 to 25

Day one: Practitioner Exchanges and Mentoring

The idea is not to network, not to sell or to buy, not to SPEED anything. A conversation amongst peers at various stages of their careers should ideally be of interest to both parties and whilst one may be seeking advice from the other, all participants should be open to share and learn. 

Day Two: Sector Gathering – FOCUS ON COLLABORATION

Using Open Space Technology (OST). Participants will self-organise to create their own agenda on the day, allowing a dynamic and immediate response to the issues at hand. The process allows free-flowing conversations about the things that really matter to the people in the room. Open Space Technology shifts culture towards a more responsible and pragmatic outlook. 

Day Three: Talking and Dancing

With the aim of sharing knowledge and encouraging dialogue, the final day or our series will focus on talks, both in conversations and panel discussions. With contributions from different parts of our broad dance, physical & visual theatre, circus and performance art sector our time together will end with a jam!

Call out deadline: Monday, May 17, 2021 by COB

Dance artists to submit their EOI via email, please include:

  • Your CV

  • A 200 word blurb about how this opportunity will benefit you at this stage in your career

  • Whether you are a regional artist or connected to the Northern Rivers area

For any questions and inquiries contact The Mill Director Katrina Lazaroff

About NORPA and Critical Path

Critical Path and NORPA have been working in partnership since 2018 to deliver practice development opportunities in the Northern Rivers for artists with an interest in choreography.

INFORM, a two-year program (2018-2020), created a space for opening up ideas and broadening skills at the intersection of dance and theatre making. The workshop-labs considered how dance and choreography can underpin an embodied approach to theatre and provided different methodologies for performance making.

Find out more about the partnership here

The partnership continues with the Choreographic Regional Hub – Northern Rivers in 2021.