Question Time

Adelaide Festivals

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (15:04): Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. What was exceptional about both events this year was the involvement of local arts organisations and individual artists. I include amongst that number the Minister for Tourism. As the centrepiece of the Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and members of the State Opera of South Australia played to sell-out audiences across four nights of Barrie Kosky's production of Saul.

The ASO went on to perform with Miriam Margolyes in Peter and the Wolf, before rounding out the Festival with what I am told was a spectacular performance accompanying internationally acclaimed singer and composer, Rufus Wainwright. The Festival also played host to two very special local companies which both made their Adelaide Festival debuts. Restless Dance performed Intimate Space at the Hilton which explored the artists' lives, living with varying degrees of disability, while at the same time exploring various hallways, bedrooms and the back-of-house at the hotel. This unique work came to the attention of festival and venue programmers interstate, and there is strong interest in touring this work.

Neil Armfield's The Secret River was another standout, with our local State Theatre Company in co-production with Sydney Theatre Company creating magic and a sold out season, at the Anstey Hill quarry in the electorate of the member for Newland. It was wonderful to have an opportunity to attend one of those shows with the member for Newland.

Gravity and Other Myths, formed out of our local Cirkidz circus school, has gone on to create waves around the world, performing sold out Fringe seasons across Europe. Their performance Backbone saw the troupe graduate from a Fringe act to a Festival success with standing ovations at every performance. In the Fringe, local artists also reaped the rewards of the festival atmosphere. The Fringe saw more than 500 local artists perform across Adelaide, in Port Augusta for the Desert Fringe, and for the first time in Mount Gambier. Over Easter, it will be Whyalla's turn.

On the back of last year's Made in Adelaide campaign and our MOU with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the government announced a new Made in Adelaide Award, which provides a grant of $10,000 to help an artist further develop, promote and travel to the largest Fringe Festival in the world. The inaugural winner of the award was prolific theatre producer and actor, Joanna Hartstone, with her piece, The Girl who Jumped from the Hollywood Sign.

I know that local artists are currently putting together their applications for the Made in Adelaide grant which will close next Monday. I look forward to seeing what other great local acts we can support to make this year's Edinburgh takeover a success. As a state, we should be extremely proud of our local arts organisations and, of course, the thousands of crew members, techies and production staff—the people who make events in disused quarries possible—the hundreds of jobs that are created behind the scenes to bring these terrific works to fruition and of course the volunteers.