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Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
's
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centre following soon afterwards. The complex includes Festival Theatre, Dunstan Playhouse (formerly The Playhouse and Optima Playhouse), Space Theatre (formerly The Space) and several gallery and function spaces. Located approximately north of the corner of North Terrace and
King William Road King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace and south of Greenhill Road; between South Terrace and Greenhill Road it i ...
, lying near the banks of the
River Torrens The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...
and adjacent to
Elder Park Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace. The park is named after the Elder family who wer ...
, it is distinguished by its two white geometric dome roofs, and lies on a 45-degree angle to the city's grid. Adelaide Festival Centre hosts
Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
and presents major festivals across the year including
Adelaide Cabaret Festival The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is an annual arts festival featuring cabaret held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It has been held in June each year since 2001, with the exception of 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, ...
,
OzAsia Festival OzAsia Festival, or simply OzAsia, is an Asia-focused arts festival in South Australia, presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre for two weeks in late October to early November each year. It features theatre, dance, music, film and visual arts ...
,
DreamBIG Children's Festival DreamBIG Children's Festival, formerly Come Out Festival or Come Out Children's Festival, is a large biennial arts festival for schools and families held in South Australia. It began as the Come Out Festival in 1974 as part of the Adelaide Festi ...
,
Adelaide Guitar Festival The Adelaide Guitar Festival (AGF), formerly the Adelaide International Guitar Festival (AGIF) is Australia's largest guitar festival, held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The AGF is the sister event to the New York Guitar ...
and OUR MOB. It is also home to Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, State Opera South Australia,
Australian Dance Theatre Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), known as Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999, is a contemporary dance company based in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman . The ADT was the first moder ...
,
State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. I ...
,
The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...
,
Brink Brink or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Brink, Virginia, United States * Brink, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States * Brink, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, a ghost town, United States * Brink (norra delen), a loca ...
and
Windmill Theatre Co Windmill Theatre Co (previously known as Windmill Performing Arts), established in 2002 as a South Australian Government initiative, is Australia's flagship professional theatre company for child and young adult audiences. artistic director ...
. The Festival Centre is managed by a
statutory corporation A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
, the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, which is responsible for encouraging and facilitating artistic, cultural and performing arts activities, as well as maintaining and improving the building and facilities of the Adelaide Festival Centre complex and
Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
. The Festival Centre was erected on the site of the
Adelaide City Baths Robert Charles Bastard (4 February 1863 – 6 November 1941) was an Australian swimming teacher who succeeded his father Thomas Barnabas Bastard as lessee of Adelaide's "City Baths". When the council upgraded the facility to include the city's only ...
, which had been there for over a century. the site (external to the venues) is undergoing major redevelopment, started in 2016, but the theatre spaces have remained open. The car park has been completed. The redevelopment was completed in February 2022.


History and construction


Background

In the 1960s, the Adelaide Festival of the Arts started to outgrow the city's existing venues, and there was a push to build a "Festival Hall". The ''Adelaide Festival Theatre Act 1964'' provided for the erection of the Festival Theatre building. The originally proposed site was the Carclew building in
North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...
, which had been purchased from the
Bonython family Bonython may refer to: People with the surname * Blanche Ada Bonython, née Bray (18??–1908), first wife of Lavington Bonython * Charles Bonython (c.1653–1705), Member of Parliament for Westminster * Chris Bonython (born 1947), Australian ama ...
by the Adelaide City Council for the purposes of building a Festival Hall. Liberal state Premier
Steele Hall Raymond Steele Hall (born 30 November 1928) is a former Australian politician who served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970. He also served in the federal Parliament as a senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977 and f ...
lobbied the
Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
for tax concessions for a public appeal for the Festival Hall, which was initially unsuccessful, until Prime Minister
John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...
offered Hall either tax concessions or . Hall accepted the money. While on a trip to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Steele Hall visited the
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
on the banks of the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
and decided that the banks of the River Torrens was the ideal choice for the site of the Adelaide Festival of the Arts and the cultural heart of the city. During this time, the
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
changed hands, but the drive for a new centre continued with fervour. When
Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...
became Premier he expanded the idea into a "Festival Centre", incorporating multiple smaller venues. The Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Robert Porter, supported by Dunstan, launched a public appeal to raise funds to build the Festival Centre and establish Adelaide as a significant city in the art world. The appeal raised its target within a week, and was soon over-subscribed; the surplus was set aside to create a collection of artworks to grace the new building. The building was designed by Hassell, McConnell and Partners for the Adelaide City Council and the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, and has been "hailed as a major step forward in modern architecture in South Australia". It was designed "from the inside out" and is particularly associated with the architect
John Morphett Sir John Morphett (4 May 1809 – 7 November 1892) was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician. His younger brother George Morphett was also an early settler in South Australia. Early life Morphett was born in London, th ...
and
Colin Hassell Hassell is a multidisciplinary architectural firm, architecture, design and urban planning practice with offices in Australia, China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1937/8 in Adelaide, South Australia, the firm's former names inclu ...
. Prior to designing the buildings, Hassell led a team which included Morphett to the United States and Europe to undertake a study of theatre designs. The Adelaide City Baths, which had stood on the site since their creation in 1861 and upgraded several times since, including the addition of an Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1940, were demolished in 1969 to make way for the new centre.


Construction

Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre, was built in three parts, from April 1970 to 1980. The main building, the Festival Theatre, was completed in 1973, within its budget of . On 2 June 1973 the Festival Theatre was officially opened by Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
at a gala performance of Act Two, Scene 1 of
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's opera ''Fidelio'' and ''Choral Symphony''. The construction of the Playhouse (now Dunstan Playhouse), Space Theatre and Amphitheatre followed. The whole Centre was completed for . (By comparison, the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, completed in 1973, cost .)


Outdoor areas

Outdoor
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
s graced the outdoor spaces, including the prominent stainless steel ''Tetrahedra'', also known as ''Environmental Sculpture'' and ''Tetrahedrons'', by
Bert Flugelman Herbert Flugelman (28 January 1923 – 26 February 2013), usually known as Bert, was a prominent Australian visual artist, primarily a sculptor, who had many of his works publicly displayed. He is known for his stainless steel geometric public s ...
(whose
Mall's Balls Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 by closing the section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to vehicular traffic. ...
is perhaps his better known work). South of complex, the Festival Plaza, initially known as the Southern Plaza was completed in March 1977, comprising an
environmental sculpture Environmental sculpture is sculpture that creates or alters the environment for the viewer, as opposed to presenting itself figurally or monumentally before the viewer. A frequent trait of larger environmental sculptures is that one can actually en ...
by highly regarded West German artist Otto Hajek, which he called ''Adelaide Urban Iconography''. (In the Festival Centre archives it is variously named ''Shorthand Adelaide'', ''City Iconograph'', and ''City Iconography'', and government records give the title ''City Sign Sculpture Garden''. It has also been referred to as "Hajek's Plaza", and was believed to be the largest artwork in Australia. Given the brief of camouflaging the new
air-conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
vent from the carpark below that would rise from the concrete surface of the plaza, Hajek, arguing that the "real job" of sculpture was social, created a plan that integrated sculpture with architecture, creating a social space encompassing the whole Southern Plaza. His plan consisted of "colourful, geometric painted surfaces and cement forms", and it was intended to include a
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
and other water features, extensive planting of vegetation, lighting and provision for sound, which would encourage people to interact with the "concrete garden". After its opening on 22 March 1977, the plaza stirred debate and opinions were mixed, but its designs were seen to "consciously exemplify the new practices and relations embodied in the concept of
environmental art Environmental art is a range of artistic practices encompassing both historical approaches to nature in art and more recent ecological and politically motivated types of works. Environmental art has evolved away from formal concerns, for example ...
". Labelled as empty and ugly by some, it was nonetheless an artwork of its times. In 1977 it was awarded a " brickbat" by the Civic Trust, but
Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation, is the government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia. The head office of Australia Post is located in Bourke Street, Melbourne, which also serves as a post o ...
honoured the sculpture in 1986 by issuing a commemorative stamp for South Australia’s
sesquicentenary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saint ...
. Hajek's wife, artist and poet Katja Hajek, wrote in 2001 that the plaza "is well-known in the world of art and became acknowledged as an artistically outstanding creation of the last quarter of the 20th century". In the decades following, its painted surfaces, fountains and vegetation were not well-maintained, there were some problems with its concrete decking, it was not used for events, and, crucially, it did not attract incidental foot traffic to interact with its forms. In 1987, the fountain, unused for the prior three years owing to a leak, was demolished as part of a upgrade of the plaza.


21st century redevelopment

In 2002–3, the area around Adelaide Festival Centre was redeveloped substantially. The Festival Plaza was redesigned, including opening the underground roadway to the sky. Although a pedestrian
suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...
was built on its west side, the Plaza was essentially isolated as a result of this redevelopment. In 2013, the
Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
announced that the Plaza would be redeveloped, with Hajek's work decommissioned and replaced. The removal of such a significant public work of art was seen as
vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...
by some commentators, including Hajek's wife. However, not everyone in the world of art and architecture or the
general public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
mourned its passing. From 2016 the Festival Plaza has been undergoing a redevelopment, as part of the major redevelopment of the
Riverbank Precinct Riverbank or river bank may refer to: *Bank (geography), the bank of a river Places *Riverbank, California *Riverbank, former name of Bryte, California Enterprises and organizations *Riverbank Academy, a special school in Coventry, England *Rive ...
. The new public plaza, known as the Public Realm, was expected to be completed by 2020, while the office buildings and retail spaces are scheduled to be finished by 2022. The architects of the original complex,
Hassell Hassell is a multidisciplinary architecture, design and urban planning practice with offices in Australia, China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1937/8 in Adelaide, South Australia, the firm's former names include Claridge, Hassel ...
, remain as architectural consultants for the project, in collaboration with ARM Architecture and
landscape architects A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
Taylor Cullity Lethlean for the outdoor spaces. It is intended that the new plaza will be defined by three major elements: the new square, the northern promenade and the Art Space Plaza. Changes to the design of the Public Realm submitted for approval in April 2020 were expected to push back the completion date to 2023, and there is limited access to the venues and no access to the plaza area.


2018 tram extension

A short branch from the
Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...
to the Festival Centre was opened in October 2018.


Governance

In 1971 the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust was established as a
statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...
by the ''Adelaide Festival Centre Trust Act 1971'', reporting to the Minister for the Arts. From about 1996 until late 2018, Arts SA (later
Arts South Australia Arts South Australia (previously Arts SA) was responsible for managing the South Australian Government's funding for the arts and cultural heritage from about 1996 until late 2018, when it was progressively dismantled, a process complete by early ...
) had responsibility for this and several other statutory bodies such as the
South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultu ...
and the Art Gallery of South Australia. Arts SA leased
Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
and the Festival Centre to the Trust, which was responsible for "encouraging and facilitating artistic, cultural and performing arts activities throughout the State" and managing and maintaining the theatres. In July 2017, the Trust bought Her Majesty's Theatre from Arts South Australia for . It also borrowed from the South Australian Government Financing Authority for a maximum term of 10 years to fund Her Majesty’s Theatre redevelopment. From late 2018, the functions previously held by Arts SA were transferred to direct oversight by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Arts and Culture section.


Venues

Adelaide Festival Centre houses the several theatres and galleries, as well as function spaces and the administrative hub of the Festival Centre. * Festival Theatre is the largest
proscenium arch theatre A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
in Adelaide, seating close to 2000 people. It was designed as both a lyric theatre and concert hall, and is used not only for theatrical productions and large concerts, but also for graduation ceremonies, seminars and many other community functions. Its huge backstage area makes the stage area one of the largest in the southern hemisphere. It also houses the Silver Jubilee Organ, a "hovering" pipe organ built and donated to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. * Dunstan Playhouse, initially known as The Playhouse, and in 1999–2000 the Optima Playhouse, and then renamed after Don Dunstan. It is located in the Drama Centre behind the main building, is a more intimate venue, seating 620 people on two levels. The State Theatre Company has been based here since 1974, and uses the theatre, the rehearsal rooms and the extensive production workshop also housed in this second building. * Space Theatre is a versatile studio theatre, sharing the Drama Centre building with the Dunstan. It has no traditional stage or fixed seating, meaning its configuration is completely flexible. It can be turned into a
theatre in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...
, a corner stage setting, or a cabaret venue. The Space seats anywhere from 200 to 350 people, depending on the configuration. *
Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...
is 1500-seat theatre located on
Grote Street Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and r ...
. First opened in 1913, the theatre underwent extensive rebuilding from 2018 to 2020 to become a world-class venue. * Artspace Gallery is a gallery exhibition space situated in the second building above the Dunstan Playhouse. * The Terrace, formerly called the Amphitheatre, is an outdoor space overlooking
Elder Park Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace. The park is named after the Elder family who wer ...
and the
River Torrens The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...
. *Artspace Gallery and QBE Galleries are further exhibition spaces.


Associated companies and events

Adelaide Festival Centre is home to South Australia's leading professional performance companies, including Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, State Opera South Australia, Australian Dance Theatre, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Brink Productions and Windmill Theatre Co. It is the host of Adelaide Festival and presents major festivals across the year including: Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Guitar Festival, OzAsia Festival, DreamBIG Children's Festival and OUR MOB.


References


Further reading

* Features Adelaide Festival Centre and
Adelaide Convention Centre The Adelaide Convention Centre is a large convention centre on North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia. It was the first purpose-built convention centre to be built in Australia. History The convention centre was des ...
, with information about the design and construction of both.


External links

* {{Authority control Performing arts in Adelaide Theatres in Adelaide Tourist attractions in Adelaide Concert halls in Australia Culture of South Australia Event venues established in 1973 Performing arts centres in Australia Entertainment venues in South Australia Adelaide Park Lands Modernist architecture in Australia