Fall in love
with the Art Gallery
all over again!

125 Celebration Program

2006 is a year of celebration at the Art Gallery of South Australia as we mark the 125^th Anniversary of an Adelaide icon. Since 1881 we’ve been home to South Australia’s outstanding public art collection and played a central role in the vibrant cultural life of the city of Adelaide.

Discover more about your Gallery through our 125 Celebration Program of events, tours, trails and other activities - there's something for everyone!

Sunday 18 June   11 – 3 pm
Big Birthday Party
Join us on our 125^th Birthday for a free day of family fun and activities

Sunday 18 June  11 am
Director, Christopher Menz talks about the collections, the building, the people that have made our Gallery great since 1881

COMPETITION
The People’s Choice
What’s your favourite work of art in our collection?
Vote for it on your next visit and you could win a reproduction print of Adelaide’s no.1.
Fill out an entry form at the Gallery. The winner will be announced on our Birthday weekend.

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Friday 16 June  7 pm
Foundation Gala Fundraising Dinner
The centrepiece event of the 125th Celebration Program will be the Foundation Gala Fundraising Dinner, giving guests the rare opportunity to join in this historic event and to dine in the magnificent Elder Wing. This wonderful banquet will be the major fundraising appeal for the Foundation’s own 25th anniversary. Enquiries and reservations: Kerry deLorme, Foundation Executive Officer, telephone (08) 8207 7040.

Tuesday 20 June  12.45 pm
How art changed my life
Stephen Bowers, Director, Jam Factory Contemporary Craft and Design, speaks about how the Art Gallery inspires his creative career

Tuesday 4 July   12.45 pm
Directors Choice
Christopher Menz, Director, speaks about Eugene von Guerard, Scenery in the Mount Lofty Ranges, near Adelaide and View of the Gulf of St Vincent, in gallery 2

Tuesday 1 August   12.45 pm
Celebrity talk
Channel Nine’s Rob Kelvin speaks about his favourite works

Download a copy of the program brochure 

Inspiring Adelaide since 1881 ...

Queen Victoria’s grandsons Princes Albert and George (later, King George V) opened the Art Gallery of South Australia on 18 June 1881. Purchases from the Melbourne International Exhibition of the previous year and major donated works of art greeted the first visitors. When wealthy colonial pastoralist and philanthropist, Sir Thomas Elder died in 1897, he left an unprecedented sum of £25,000 for the purchase of pictures, encouraging the Government to construct a dedicated Art Gallery, opened in 1900. This building – now our Elder Wing of Australian Art – remains one of Australia’s most beautiful galleries.

Since 1881 our collection has grown to 35,000 works of art and we’ve welcomed nearly 20 million visitors. Our anniversary is a chance to look back over 125 years of artistic excellence and forward to an exciting future. It’s also an opportunity to pay tribute to the many curators, benefactors, artists and art lovers who, since the turn of last century, have helped to make the Art Gallery of South Australia such an extraordinary place to visit.

Throughout the year visitors will be able to discover more about their Gallery through a range of specially themed talks, tours and family trails to highlight the masterpieces in the collection and the stories behind them. We’ll go on the hunt to reveal Adelaide’s favourite work of art from the collection and will give children the chance to have their say about selected works on display with the introduction of children’s labels. In June, the Foundation will be celebrating its 25^th anniversary in style with a sumptuous gala fundraising dinner to be held in the Elder Wing, generously sponsored by Ord Minnett.

Many other initiatives along with the full year’s program of events will be launched at our fabulous Valentine’s Day cocktail party on 14 February. Tickets are $50 for Members ($60 non-Members) and funds raised will support the 125 Celebration Program. To book, call the Friends on 8207 7050.

Join us in 2006 for a very special year of festivities and fall in love with the Art Gallery all over again.