There’s only a few days left to see this year’s SALA at the silos event in Karoonda, South Australia, with the festival finishing at the end of August.

This is the sixth year of this event where the disused grain silos are transformed at night with projections of art and photography to celebrate creativity and encourage more visitation to the town. This has a flow on effect of increasing spending in the town, with visitors staying overnight in the Karoonda Tourist Park and using other businesses in town such as the supermarket, cafes, gift shops and hotel.

This year’s theme was ‘Grounded in Place’ and I was absolutely thrilled to have once again been involved as one of the 19 chosen artists. On opening night, we and other attendees were treated to 58 stunning pieces of work illuminated on the giant silos which formed an epic concrete canvas to display them. It was an evening of brilliant art, by talented individuals, enjoyed under the stars with a few drinks and wood oven fired pizzas.

The theme of the exhibition invited artists to explore the meaning of home as well as connections to land, culture and community and for the first time this year, there was also a booklet produced. In the booklet, artists were invited to introduce themselves and explain the stories behind why they chose the particular artworks or photographs on display.

I loved this idea for getting to know the background of the artists involved and learning about them and their art. For me, it’s enabled me to add more creatives to follow on social media and hopefully, others have discovered my pursuits as well.

The photos I chose for the theme were:

• Uluru in central Australia, home of the Anangu people and a place I consider to be the heart of our country
• The Flinders Ranges in outback South Australia, home of the Adnyamathanha people and chosen for its ancient fossils, geology and striking natural features
• The Coorong at Goolwa, on Ngarrindjeri country, an important wetland and bird breeding area with stunning views and the region of South Australia I call home

When we were in Karoonda, we stayed at the Karoonda Tourist Park, which has grassed or gravel caravan sites, terrific amenities including a unique camp kitchen with indoor BBQ’s and a large communal campfire which many of the visiting artists enjoyed after the event. For non-caravanners, there are also cabins to stay in.

During the day we busied ourselves by visiting the Pioneer Park which has an incredible amount of history to see including a beautiful corrugated iron church which was relocated from the nearby locality of Wynarka. For a donation, visitors can wander at leisure and discover other buildings from yesteryear, farm equipment, train carriages, and more.

You can also easily spend time visiting the shops in town including a lovely one filled to the brim with crafts and homemade goodies created by Karoonda locals. There is more art and sculpture to see around town and all within easy walking distance of the caravan park.

SALA at the silos is only on during the month of August at Karoonda, but the other attractions are there to visit any time during the year, and every month there is a new feature artist whose work appears on the silos at night.

Enjoy,

Glenys

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