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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-09-09 Daily Xml
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Royal South Australian Society of Arts

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:26): A few months ago the member for Ashford drew my attention to the activities of the Royal South Australian Society of Arts in the Institute Building on the corner of Kintore Avenue and North Terrace. It is the oldest such society in Australia and since its inception in 1856 it has been a leader in visual arts promotion and progress. The proud heritage of artists such as the Ashtons, the Heysens, Ruth Tuck, Mervyn Smith, John Dowie and Dorrit Black are part of the Royal South Australian Society of Arts with current day fellows Jeffrey Smart, Penny Dowie, Robert Hannaford, David Dryden, Cathi Steer and many others adding to the proud history of the society.

The Hon. S.W. Key: The late Jeffrey Smart.

Ms BEDFORD: It did not say the late Jeffrey Smart. The member for Ashford is on the ball again. The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize has been hosted by the society since its introduction and the society is a participant in Festival and Fringe functions.

It was as part of the SALA this year that I had a recent collaboration with the Royal Society through Jack Condous, Vikki Waller and Bev Bills, and I thank them for their kindnesses and assistance. Along with the member for Ashford, a nomination was lodged for Molly Byrne, the first Australian Labor Party woman elected to the House of Assembly, to be considered as a subject in the Biennial Portrait Prize. She was accepted and a series of demonstrations took place where it was possible to see firsthand artists develop portraits in either oil, acrylic, water colour, pencil or other medium.

There was a prize pool of $16,650 donated by many sponsors and Ms Irena Zhang kindly donated the first prize of $10,000, which is quite substantial. Forty-four artists in all worked with 11 significant sitters, Molly Byrne being one of them, and artists Tsering Hannaford, David Philip, Mark Wilson and Betty Anderson painted or drew Molly. It is significant to note that Mark Wilson is the son of a Liberal Party member, a former member of the House of Representatives, and, of course, Tsering Hannaford is the daughter of Robert Hannaford.

The process was really amazing to watch and I enjoyed the day immensely. The final portraits were exhibited in two spaces within the Institute Building as part of the SALA activities. Molly was delighted with the portraits and she took home one and her daughter took home another. Three of the four portraits were snapped up before going on public display. It was a wonderful exhibition and thoroughly enjoyed by all who went along.

The Royal South Australian Society of Arts is somewhat a hidden gem and perhaps, because it is located a little way away from the Art Gallery on North Terrace, it really is something worth finding. It is always going to be worthwhile to pay a visit because there is always something happening in the galleries and I urge everyone to take up the opportunity to visit the current exhibitions whenever they are on North Terrace in the cultural precinct. It is definitely well worthwhile.

Through this interaction, I was encouraged to participate in SALA myself this year following a request by a local resident. A young man who I have known for many years had recently taken up art as therapy in his recovery from a debilitating workplace injury. Art can, of course, be therapy and very therapeutic for the artist and the observer as well.

As an emerging artist, I was thrilled to be able to open his debut exhibition in front of family and friends. Simon Schenck has turned his ability and talent with food preparation into creating art and I am sure we all witnessed the beginning of an exciting career—so much so that I was happy to purchase two of the works myself and donate them to the Graham F. Smith Peace Foundation for their fundraising dinner in October.

I congratulate the Graham F. Smith Peace Foundation for its long commitment to peace and, of course, arts in South Australia, and I want to particularly mention Ms Leonie Ebert and her long association with this outstanding organisation. Over the years, I have been encouraged to purchase many works of art through the Graham F. Smith Peace Foundation and only last year attended an exhibition of posters at the Festival Centre held under their auspices.

Art has long been recognised as a medium for many things—entertainment and pleasure, and a thought-provoking influence on society. Suffrage art, of course, through people such as Sylvia Pankhurst, led the debate at the turn of the 20th century to encourage women to win the vote. Through the arts, we have the opportunity to learn and record history.

Here in Parliament House, many portraits adorn the walls—alas, not many contemporary, although I do know that the member for Adelaide was one of the sitters in this year's exhibition for the Royal Society. I am not sure where her portraits went but it would be good to see one of them somewhere. While I do not have an artistic bone in my body, I enjoy viewing art and admiring it (everyone has the ability to do that), and it is always a pleasure to bring people through the house to look at our fine examples of Dowie, Hele, Hannaford and Platten in the precinct. I look forward to having a lot more to do with the Royal Society in future.

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