Charlotte Varcoe
TWO artists from the Limestone Coast have further developed their skills during a weekend away in Adelaide.
Sally O’Connor worked alongside April Hague at the three-day Nebula 2021 event which aims to nurture and extend creative arts practices and continue to build important skills and knowledge to further recipients in the next stages of their careers.
The two artists joined six other successful applicants in the city during the statewide South Australian Living Arts Festival (SALA) while also attending events such as panels, exhibitions and professional development workshops.
Ms O’Connor said the experience was one she would never forget labelling the three days as “full on”.
“Everyone at the event was so accepting and wanted to give us help and embrace us which was really heartfelt from our point of view,” Ms O’Connor said.
“The event as a whole was quite incredible and I was blown away by how friendly and helpful everyone was.”
She said the attendees learnt tips for applying for funding and learny how to write professionally about their art individually.
“There were a few occasions where we were taken out of our comfort zone but I think it really created a unique bond between the eight of us,” Ms O’Connor said.
“It was a life changing experience exposed to everyone involved and was wonderful to be accepted and encouraged by everyone.”
Ms Hague said she too believed the event was conducted wonderfully labelling the experience as one which “money cannot buy”.
“The quality of presenters was a highlight and the fact that they were so generous in sharing their knowledge and so welcoming of us,” Ms Hague said.
“I have learnt so many things from the experience and the biggest this was probably the insight into curatorial practice that I gained and how to improve the likelihood of getting shows in high profile galleries.”
Ms Hague said she believed she had expanded her skills and knowledge thanks to the experience, especially in writing about contemporary art, grant applications and in curating shows.
“This was achieved through high quality workshops as well as visits through many exhibitions held as part of SALA and follow up discussions as a group,” she said.
“Meeting high-profile South Australian artists and listening to them speak about their diverse arts practices taught me a lot about process and conceptualisation and also opened my mind to opportunities such as mentorships and residencies.”
Both artists agreed the experience was well worth the application and encouraged other artists to apply for the Nebula event in 2022.
