The countdown is on for the second Flinders Festival of Creative Arts. Showcasing the work of Flinders’ students, alumni and lecturers, this two-week-long celebration of Flinders Creative Arts will let you explore different disciplines including Performance, Screen, Creative Writing, Visual Effects and Entertainment Design, Game Production, Fashion, Costume Design, Dance and Visual Arts.
Spread across different venues, the Flinders Festival of Creative Arts will take place at Flinders’ Bedford Park campus as well as at the Adelaide Festival Centre and CDW Studios.
Packed with events and exhibitions, the Flinders Festival of Creative Arts is sure to offer something for everyone – including you. From 13 – 24 November 2023, you have the chance to take part in all of these events:
Monday 13 November – Opening of the Festival of Creative Arts
Café Alere, Flinders University
4:00PM – 6:00PM
Join us for the opening of the 2023 Flinders Festival of Creative Arts.
Douglas Gautier AM will officially open this year’s Festival. Flinders University Assemblage Artistic Director Nescha Jelk will share some of her insights about her incredible journey through the arts industry.
Refreshments and canapes will be provided.
Tuesday 14 November – Film screening and meet the filmmaker: Tim Carlier, Paco
North Lecture Theatre 1, Humanities Building, Flinders University
6:00PM – 7:30PM
Movie screening followed by a Q&A session.
Tim Carlier’s absurdist comedy Paco was produced through the Hanlon Larsen Fellowship, dedicated to the memory of late Flinders Screen lecturer Cole Larsen, and his interest in experimental film. Paco is a surreal odyssey through Adelaide’s film scene, as sound recordist Manny (Flinders graduate Manuel Ashman) attempts to recover a lost microphone. Filled with wry humour and carefully choreographed long takes, Paco has gone on to play at the Adelaide Film Festival and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Please join us for this special Flinders screening, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers.
Wednesday 15 November – Flinders University Chamber Ensemble Performance
Oasis Function Centre, Flinders University, Bedford Park
5:30PM – 6:30PM
Join us for a performance of baroque works, including Winter from the popular Four Seasons by Vivaldi. Conductor: law alumni Arthur Siow.
The orchestra comprises people with a broad range of musical skill, who enjoying playing music together including staff, students, alumni and friends.
Wednesday 15 – Friday 17 November – Drama Student Showcase: be/ginning
Various times, Rehearsal Room, Adelaide Festival Centre
A showcase of new works and short plays by the 2023 graduating actors of the Flinders Drama Centre.
Join us at the Adelaide Festival Centre Drama Rehearsal Room for a special presentation of these new works-in-progress by the next generation of South Australian performers, as they begin their stories, creating original narratives that redefine identity for a new age.
Thursday 16 November – Screen Student Showcase: Sunset Screening
Flinders Outdoor Plaza, Bedford Park
7:00PM for a 7:30PM start – 9:30PM
Please join us to celebrate a year of filmmaking, creativity, and collaboration.
Featuring short films made by Flinders University Screen Production students.
*Viewer discretion advised: Some of the films may include strong content. Children under 15 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian for the duration of the films.*
BYO picnic blanket and food (no BYO alcohol)
Popcorn and donuts available!
Friday 17 November – Robyn Archer AO Oration
Banquet Room, Adelaide Festival Centre 6:30PM – 8:00PM
Robyn, one of the Australia’s greatest cultural treasures, is a singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, nationally and globally.
Following her recent tour “Robyn Archer: An Australian songbook” with stops in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Sydney and Hobart, Robyn Archer AO returns to Adelaide in November 2023 where she will deliver the inaugural The Robyn Archer Oration.
In conjunction with The Helpmann Academy.
Monday 20 November – Tuesday 21 November, Virtual Production Showcase
The Void (Drama Centre), Flinders University
10:00AM – 11:30AM
2:00PM – 3:30PM
You are invited to a live demonstration of the 2023 projects that have been undertaken in ‘The Void’ Flinders multipurpose virtual production stage housed in the University’s acclaimed Drama Centre.
Discipline Lead, Senior Lecturer and Motion Capture Specialist Jason Bevan and Cameron Mackness, Business and Development Coordinator of The Void will guide you through the research and production activity they have undertaken in 2023 and give you an insight into the production methods used in a multitude of virtual production projects, led by both students and staff at Flinders University. You will also see the work of MA Virtual Production students, BCA Drama, BCA Screen, BCA Visual Effects and BCI Digital Media students who have all undertaken projects in The Void.
Project work will also be screened to the Voids LED screens which can be viewed from 9am during the whole 2 weeks of the Festival.
Ambisonic Studio Experience
Ambisionic Studio, Sir Eric Neal Building 2.13, Flinders University, Bedford Park
12:00PM – 1:00PM
3:00PM – 4:00PM
You are invited to experience the work from Artist in Residence Dr Jesse Budel in the Flinders Ambisonic Studio.
One of the only studios of its kind in the world, the Ambisonic Studio is a custom-built space for artists to record, mix and play back three-dimensional 360-degree audio. It’s a one-of-a-kind, ground-breaking experience in the future of sound technology.
At this event, guests will experience Jesse’s work in full, immersive sound.
Tuesday 21 November – Flinders University Museum of Arts (FUMA) presents: mane djang karirra: the place where the dreaming changed shape
Flinders University Museum of Art, Flinders University, Bedford Park
4:00PM – 5:00PM
This exhibition marks the sixtieth anniversary of Maningrida Arts & Culture (MAC), a community-based Aboriginal art centre in north central Arnhem Land. Established as an element of the Maningrida Social Club in 1963 and now one of the nation’s longest-running art centres, MAC supports a vibrant and diverse community representing some fifteen language groups. mane djang karirra puts the spotlight on a new generation of female artists – affirming the flourishing and dynamic role of these young women as they forge the centre’s identity in the twenty-first century.
Join FUMA Director, Fiona Salmon, for an introduction to the origins and efflorescence of their practices.
Creative Writing & Drama Student Showcase: Book Launch: Arcanum: Myth, Mystery and Mayhem
The Tavern, Flinders University, Bedford Park
6:30PM – 8:30PM
Join us for a book launch and dramatic performance of the readings for the 2023 creative writing anthology Arcanum: Myth, Mystery and Mayhem. Published by Glimmer Press, this anthology is a collection of thirteen tantalising tales inspired by the Tarot.
Watch these short stories come to life with readings from Flinders Drama students in this intimate setting in The Tavern.
Wednesday 22 November – Floods of Fire
Flinders Outdoor Plaza
1:00PM – 3:00PM
The Citizens Orchestra workshop is a music making activity that will run for around 2 hours.
The workshop will be an open invitation and include people of all ages and abilities: members of existing music groups, music students, curious music-loving individuals, people who like to sing, and people without any musical experience, but would like to try it out. With the way Tim works it would be great to have a fairly large open space.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own instruments from home but can also just show up as they are. Tim Steiner will collaborate with the participants to devise the lyrics and music.
Thursday 23 November – Jesse Budel’s Artist in Residence Final Presentation
5pm-6pm South Lecture Theatre 3, IST Building
Followed by: Ambisonic Sound Studio Experience
Sir Eric Neal Engineering Building 2.13 and Flinders Plaza, 6pm – 7pm
Assemblage Centre for Creative Arts is delighted to present a 360-degree Ambisonic sound studio experience at Flinders, Bedford Park. In this session, Dr Jesse Budel will present his final Artist in Residence presentation. Guests will be offered the chance to experience the College’s ground-breaking studio and hear some of Jesse’s amazing work.
100 Day Film: Launch and Film Screening of Lucid Dreaming
Matthew Flinders Theatre, Flinders University, Bedford Park
7:00PM – 9:30PM
Lucid Dreaming is a mystery feature film and asks the question “What if dreams could change reality?” The film is a non-linear narrative, delving into the subconscious and surreal. Lucid Dreaming will appeal to anyone who has ever had a dream, and wanted to change the world.
Filmmaker, business owner and educator Tom Young has set himself the challenge of making a feature film within 100 days, from 15th August to 23rd November 2023. Day one begins with a script, and on day 100 the film will premiere worldwide on YouTube, and on the big screen to a local South Australian audience.
Friday 24 November – Visual Effects and Entertainment Design Showcase
CDW Studios, Myer Centre, Adelaide
It’s time to celebrate the achievements of the CDW Studios/Flinders University Third Year and Honours students of 2023.
Students and invited guests will have the chance to mingle with their peers, industry guests, and instructors. The evening is a chance for industry to see the students work, meet and chat in an informal setting about future prospects, all while having a drink and a canape.
The students’ work will be available online to the public following the event at veedshowcase.com.
This event is closed to the public.
Ongoing: Monday 13 – Friday 24 November, Creative Arts Student Exhibition
Matthew Flinders Theatre Foyer
9:00AM – 5:00PM
You are invited to explore, discover, be challenged, entertained and amazed by the work of Flinders Creative Arts students.
Explore work from visual effects and entertainment design, dance, costume, screen, creative industries, creative arts and virtual production students. You’ll be inspired by the work that is produced by creative arts students. Open all day, every day.
So, why should I come?
Why wouldn’t you? You’d be missing out on soooo much. If creativity is your thing, no matter in which form, you’ll love Flinders Festival of Creative Arts.
At Flinders, creative arts have been a cornerstone for over 50 years. In that time, we have produced a whole bunch of outstanding alumni, who now are fulfilling their dream careers – think Marvel, Pixar and Disney; Mortal Combat, The Hunger Games and Black Mirror; Possum Magic, Burial Rights and Wide Open Fear; Closer Productions, State Theatre Company South Australia and Adelaide Festival Centre.
Flinders Festival of Creative Arts will not only let you immerse yourself in our creative arts community but also give you insights into the minds and imaginations of the next generation of creatives. You could see a future Emmy Award winner’s first short film…just saying!
Step into Flinders’ cutting-edge facilities and studio spaces, discover non-traditional research, and find out why Flinders is THE place to study creative arts. This is the ultimate chance to experience firsthand that Flinders really does make their Creative Arts and Creative Industries graduates career-ready. We’re not No.1 in SA in Creative Arts for full-time employment, learner engagement, skills development, student support and teaching quality* for no reason.
Register for the Flinders Festival of Creative Arts events
Come along to one of our free events, or all of them! For more info and to register, head to the Flinders Festival of Creative Arts page. We look forward to celebrating with you soon!
*The Good Universities Guide 2022 (undergraduate), public SA-founded universities only