Royal South Australian Society of Arts

01/06/2026

🎨 YOUTHSCAPE 2026 — celebrating South Australia's emerging artists 🎨

The Royal South Australian Society of Arts (RSASA) invites you to the opening of the Youthscape 2026 Art Prize and Exhibition, showcasing the work of talented young artists aged 15–26.

Join us at 2:00 pm on Sunday, 7 June 2026, for the official opening by Olivia Dryden FRSASA, jeweller, taxidermy artist and former Youthscape participant (2016–2018).

Awards will be presented during the event, and 2024 Youthscape winner, Charlie Rose Jeffrey-Bannister, will share a short talk about their experience as a previous winner.

The exhibition runs from 7–28 June 2026 at the RSASA Gallery, Adelaide.

✨ Free entry

If you'd like to discover the next generation of South Australian artists, this is a wonderful opportunity to see a diverse range of contemporary work and support young creative talent.

📍 RSASA Gallery, Level 1, Institute Building, Corner North Terrace & Kintore Avenue, Adelaide

01/06/2026

RSASA 170th Commemorative History Festival Exhibition 26/04-31/05/2026

🔸Dorrit Black (1891-1951), FRSASA, The sketch club, 1942, Oil on cardboard, 68.5 x 71.5cm, Art Gallery of South Australia, RSASA Collection, print of the original, 2026

🔸Tsering Hannaford, FRSASA, Meditation on seeing (portrait of Dad), 2024, Oil on board, 117.2 x 91cm, Loan of the artist

🔸Betty Jew (1924–2011), FRSASA, Bust of Ludwik Dutkiewicz, c.1960s, Plaster, 44cm high, RSASA Collection, Gift of Adam Dutkiewicz via the artist’s estate, 2022

🔸Harold Septimus Power (1877–1951), FRSASA, Horses, c.1930, Gouache, 90 x 71cm, Loan of Pip Fletcher

🔸John Dowie (1915–2008), AM FRSASA, Bust of Debra Collins, c.1980, Plaster cast, 44 x 30cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of Debra Collins, 2020

🔸Stephanie Schrapel (1944-2022), FRSASA, Child Art Exhibition [RSASA Gallery], n.d. C-type photograph, edn. 1/30, 31 x 39cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of the artist

🔸Vally Knez (1919–2000), Winter, c.1980s, Acrylic on canvas, 45 x 37cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of Richard Glendon, 2003

🔸Jacqueline Hick (1919–2004), FRSASA, Nora Heysen, 1949, Oil on cardboard, 48 x 40cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of the artist

🔸Peg Burke (1917-1996), FRSASA, Mermaid, c.1980s, Glazed ceramic, 7 x 11cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of Stephanie Schrapel, 2016

🔸Durham Rayner (1926–2015), FRSASA, Portrait of Mrs Davison, 1956, Oil on canvas, 38 x 34.5cm, RSASA Collection

🔸Arthur Lawrence (Pip) Comport (1922–2023), FRSASA, John Dowie – sculptor, 2000, Oil on canvas, 101.5 x 86.5cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of the artist

01/06/2026

RSASA 170th Commemorative History Festival Exhibition 26/04-31/05/2026

🔹John Whitney, FRSASA, Hiltaba Woolshed and Road Sign, 2022, Mixed media, 42 x 55cm, Loan of the artist

🔹Duncan Goldfinch (1888–1960), FRSASA, 300 Miles West of Alice Springs, 1953, Watercolour on paper, 64 x 68,5cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of the artists son, 1993

🔹Hilda Fehring (1918-2013), FRSASA, Tranquillity, c.1970s, Oil on canvas, 67 x 77.5cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of Bradley Fehring (artist’s son), 2016

🔹Garry Lee Gaston (1938–2022), OAM FRSASA, Landscape, river near Murray Bridge, n.d. Oil on board, 76 x 51cm, Loan of Lee Gaston (son of the artist)

🔹Norma Hunter (1929–2010), ARSASA, End of Kensington Road, n.d. Oil on board, 55 x 64cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of the Hunter Estate, c.2016

🔹June Colligan (1934-2002), FRSASA, Northern Summer, n.d. Oil on board, 58.8 x 74.2cm, RSASA Collection, Bequeathed from the estate of Stephanie Schrapel, 2022

🔹Krystyna (Krys) Andrecki, FRSASA, Desert, Dust, and Dirt Tracks, c.1980s, Oil on canvas, 86 x 106cm, Loan of the artist.

🔹Frederick Millward Grey (1899–1957) FRSASA [Landscape], c.1940s, Watercolour on paper, 48.5 x 55cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of the Gordon Mart Family, 2018

🔹Coralie Armstrong (1945–2017), FRSASA, River Red Gum, 2010, Oil on canvas, 76 x 51cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of Frank Peddie, 2018

🔹Alan Louis Ramachandran, FRSASA, [Untitled Landscape], c.2010, Watercolour on paper, 39 x 54cm, RSASA Collection, Gift of the artist, c.2010

01/06/2026

RSASA 170th Commemorative History Festival Exhibition 26/04-31/05/2026

Photography by Art in Adelaide

18/05/2026

Enjoy a beautiful set-up of the RSASA 170th Commemorative History Festival Exhibition. It is on display till 31/05/2026 .

Photography by in Adelaide

17/05/2026

RSASA 170th Commemorative History Festival Exhibition, presented as part of the South Australia History Festival, explores the long and evolving story of art in South Australia through works drawn from the Royal South Australian Society of Arts’ collection and contemporary practice. Reflecting on 170 years of artistic activity, the exhibition highlights the people, ideas, and cultural movements that have shaped the state’s visual identity across generations.

Within the wider History Festival program, the exhibition offers a space where history is experienced visually and emotionally — connecting archives, collections, and living artists. Rather than simply documenting the past, the exhibition demonstrates how art helps preserve memory, interpret change, and shape the way South Australians understand their shared history and cultural heritage.

- Margaret Rohde, Mixed Pleasures, hand coloured lino
- Nora Heysen, ALEC Brush Boy Solomon Is., Conte on paper
- Lidia Groblicka, Happy Landing, 1970 Refugees, woodcut, 36.3x38.6cm
- Lucie Winter, Sill Life waith Fungi, Acrylic on canvas
- Cathy Teer, Ready to Leave, oil, 76x102cm

06/05/2026

✨ Opening Night — RSASA 170th Commemorative Exhibition ✨

Sunday afternoon brought a full and lively crowd as the Royal South Australian Society of Arts celebrated an incredible milestone — 170 years since its founding in 1856. The official opening was led by The Hon. Laura Stein, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Guests were warmly welcomed by RSASA President Bev Bill. Following her address, RSASA Honorary Historian Robert Bartnik spoke about the exhibition, which he organised in collaboration with RSASA Collection Manager Doris Unger.

The atmosphere was warm and buzzing — a strong turnout, thoughtful conversations, and a genuine sense of connection to South Australia’s artistic past and present. The exhibition itself brings together a rich and carefully curated collection, moving from historical works through to contemporary responses, showing just how much the visual arts landscape has evolved — and how deeply the RSASA has been part of that journey.

As part of the wider South Australia History Festival, this exhibition sits within a broader program that celebrates stories, people, and places across the state. In the visual arts space, the festival creates a valuable platform for reflection — linking archives, collections, and contemporary practice, and making history accessible through exhibitions like this one. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t just document history — it actively shapes how we understand it.

The opening felt like exactly what such an anniversary deserves — generous, well-attended, and full of energy. A wonderful mix of artists, art lovers, and community members came together to celebrate not only the Society’s legacy but its continued role in South Australia’s cultural life.

📍 RSASA Gallery, Level 1, Institute Building, North Terrace & Kintore Avenue
📅 26 April – 31 May 2026
If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s still time.

23/04/2026

Please join us for the premiere of a new video interview with South Australian upcycling artist Swapna Namboodiri, the finalist of 16th Solar Art Prize.

She creates beautiful, intricate works from discarded plastic, and this conversation turned out really thoughtful and down-to-earth.

🗓 Premiere: 24 April 2026, 6:30 pm (ACST)
👉 https://youtu.be/16w68eklYHs

If you can’t make it live — no worries, the video will be available on Art in Adelaide YouTube channel 24/7 😊

Sustainable Art in Adelaide: Swapna Namboodiri on Turning Plastic Waste into Powerful 3D Work

23/04/2026

👉 Entries for the RSASA Youthscape 2026 Art Prize close 12/05/2026 👈

Open to all young artists 15 – 26 Years
FREE Entry
Prize pool Over $8,000. First prize $5,000 donated by the M & M Carbins Trust.
Second Prize: $2,000 donated by the RSASA
Categories: 2D, 3D, Photography, Mixed Media, Printmaking.

📆 Exhibition dates: 7 – 28 June 2026
📌 Venue: RSASA Gallery, Level 1, Institute Bldg, Cnr North Tce & Kintore Ave, Adelaide 5000
👉Digital entry form via the linkhttps://rsasarts.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/YS2026_Entry_Digital-form.pdf