The Adelaide Festival and the development of arts in Adelaide

ABSTRACT

This paper asks: why, given the Australian city of Adelaide’s early intervention to embed a flagship arts festival, has it failed to develop as an arts city with a more democratized cultural terroir, with greater diversity and inclusion? We argue that part of the answer lies in the continuing influence of its flagship Adelaide Festival, which, from the beginning, was not of, and for, the entire city, nor “art for all,” but very much the opposite. It was explicitly orientated to the virtues of high art, packaged for a social elite, and linked to tourism–led urban regeneration. Rather than a celebration of Adelaide’s cultural terroir, it established a marketized form of arts festival built around a core of imported art. Informed by multiple data sources, this case study offers a positive critique at a pivot point in Adelaide’s festival history, suggesting that a consideration of other types of art city offers alternatives for the future.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adrian Franklin

Adrian Franklin trained in social anthropology in the UK and has held Professorial positions in the UK, Europe and Australia. He is currently Professor of Creative Industries and Cultural Policy, University of South Australia. His research interests include the sociology of art; museums, art publics and arts festivals; urban studies; design; contemporary social theory; posthumanism; travel, tourism and the creative industries. His books include Anti-museum (Routledge), The Making of MONA (Penguin), Retro (Bloomsbury), City Life (Sage), and Tourism (Sage). He is currently developing a new book, The More-Than-Human Handbook for Routledge.

Boram Lee

Boram Lee is a Senior Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Management, at UniSA Business, University of South Australia. She is specialized in the field of accounting and finance with an emphasis on behavioral studies based on psychological approaches. She has a wide range of research interests in cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary studies, covering the valuation of arts and culture, international collaboration, disability arts, cultural tourism, and artists’ career development.

Ruth Rentschler

Ruth Rentschler is Professor of Arts and Cultural Leadership at UniSA Business, University of South Australia. She is a management scholar in the context of arts and culture, with a history of research excellence demonstrated by her quality national and international grants, journal publications and leading of national and international research teams, through her international profile as a researcher. She is Deputy Chair of the board of Australian Dance Theatre. Publications (i.e., books, articles and industry reports) focus on diversity and social inclusion in the context of the arts. She has received various honors and awards, such as the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Service to the Community, Best Doctoral Supervisor Award, Cutting Red Tape Award, and an Order of Australia for services to education, the arts and the community.