Adelaide Festival Centre Presents OUR MOB 2018: Art By South Australian Aboriginal Artists

In 2018, Adelaide Festival Centre is proud to celebrate the 13th year of Our Mob: Art by South Australian Aboriginal Artists, a free exhibition featuring artworks from over 70 artists of ages ranging from 8 - 77 years old.

Our Mob will be on display from 1 September until 14 October in the Festival Theatre Galleries at Adelaide Festival Centre. Works on display will be available for sale.

The 2018 Our Mob program features three main components: Our Mob, an exhibition of works by South Australian Aboriginal artists; Our Young Mob, an exhibition of works by artists under 18 years old, including some children of parents exhibiting in Our Mob; and the Don Dunstan Foundation Prize Showcase, including a selection of works produced by last year's Don Dunstan Emerging Artist Award recipient, Patrick Ferguson.

Working together with Country Arts SA and Ananguku Arts and Culture, artworks are gathered from Adelaide and across the State's regional and remote communities.

Adelaide Festival Centre has showcased the quality and diversity of art created by South Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists since 2006, boosting the careers of numerous artists and generating direct-to-artist sales to support their art practices.

Adelaide Festival Centre Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director, Douglas Gautier AM, says Our Mob is one of the best-loved and most important fixtures in Adelaide Festival Centre's calendar. "Visual arts are central to Adelaide Festival Centre's presentations and we are proud to present and support established and emerging artists. Our Mob's celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is a key part of our annual program."

Three prizes will be awarded on opening night: Don Dunstan Foundation Our Mob Emerging Artist Prize; the Country Arts South Australia (CASA) Regional Our Mob Emerging Artist Professional Development Award; and A?anguku Our Young Mob Award.

The Don Dustan Foundation Our Mob Emerging Artist Prize of $5,000 has run for four years and is selected by judges (including the previous year's winner), a Don Dunstan Foundation member and an Aboriginal art curator/worker. The money is awarded for professional development, with most artists using the funds for classes, research, or new materials.

The 2017 winner of the prize, Patrick Ferguson, was born in Broken Hill and grew up in the remote town of Tibooburra NSW. Patrick's mother and grandmother passed on their traditional knowledge and customs, now reflected in his art, creating traditional Punu (wood) artifacts, such as clap sticks, shields, boomerangs, spears and Piti Bowls. Punu is the longest surviving resource known to man and has been a valuable product for Indigenous Australians since the dreamtime. Patrick creates all of his works in Adelaide and travels to display and sell his pieces, as well as educating children on creating Aboriginal 'Punu' artefacts, the importance of using what you need and where the 'Punu' are located in different traditional lands.

Adelaide Festival Centre gratefully acknowledges ongoing partnerships with Ananguku Arts and Culture Aboriginal Corporation and SICAD; Country Arts SA; The Don Dunstan Foundation; TARNANTHI: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art; and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture centre managers and coordinators across South Australia.

For further information visit adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au