ACE Open
Former name
Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia & Australian Experimental Art Foundation
Established2017
LocationLion Arts Centre, Adelaide
TypeContemporary art gallery
DirectorPatrice Sharkey
CEOLouise Dunn
ChairpersonKate Irving
Websiteaceopen.art

ACE Open is a contemporary visual art organisation based in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 2017 after the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia and the Australian Experimental Art Foundation (AEAF) were merged, creating a new organisation.

History

The Experimental Art Foundation (EAF) was created in the Adelaide suburb of St Peters[1] in 1974 by a breakaway group of CACSA members, with the intention of focusing on "more radical, multi-disciplinary and performance work".[2] These artists and theorists, initiated by Donald Brook, and joined by Bert Flugelman[1] (who had moved from Sydney at Brook's suggestion), Ian North, Clifford Frith, and Phil Noyce,[3] wanted to promote the idea of art as "radical and only incidentally aesthetic", and encourage new approaches to creating art. Its stated mission was "to assist, promote and develop, through production, exhibition, distribution and the encouragement of debate, art and art practices that are analytical, critical and experimental, which challenge established thinking and expand cultural discourse".[4] According to Brook, the EAF was "an engine for shaping beliefs about the meaning of works of art and the point of making them".[5] Its exhibitions displayed the work of both Australian and international experimental and performance artists; In 1976, artist Phillip Gerner gave a 24-hour performance as a human jam-tasting facility, after having a feeding tube and catheter inserted into his body.[1]

Printmaker Ruth Faerber, reviewing an exhibition of Adelaide art at the Art Gallery of NSW in 1977, compared the EAF with the Progressive Art Movement, which was "motivated by a strong Marxist sociopolitical direction, agreed to a shared program for action and a sense of immediate imperative". By contrast the EAF, did not commit to a set of agreed aims, and stated that they had an "open ended" attitude against mainstream, non-conformism as against entrenched doctrines, "experimentation as against patrician formalism".[6]

In 1992 the re-purposed factory building which became the Lion Arts Centre included a purpose-built gallery, artist studios, offices and the Dark Horsey Bookshop, which focused on art-related publications. Renamed the Australian Experimental Art Foundation (AEAF) along the way, the organisation ran a residency program, which supported several leading South Australian artists.[7] The AEAF was mainly funded by the federal government through the Australia Council and the Government of South Australia through Arts SA.[4]

From August 2016 the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia (CACSA) started talks to merge with AEAF,[8] after two rounds of severe funding cuts to the Australia Council in the federal government budgets of 2014/15 and 2015/16. Arts SA provided funding for the two organisations to cover operational costs for 2017, which enabled planning for the merger, which was named ACE Open.[9][10][1] After the merger had been decided, the Australia Council provided further funding to ACE Open to help with its setup costs.[2]

The new gallery opened its inaugural exhibition, BLACKFLAG, featuring the work of South Australian painter Christian Lock, on 15 March 2017.[11]

Description

The organisation is located in the Lion Arts Centre (the former location of the AEAF[11]) in the West End of North Terrace, in an area specifically designed for artistic use, including a gallery, office space and artist's studios. It also incorporates a free space, formerly the Dark Horsey bookshop, which can be used for events and other purposes, and includes the former Feast Festival rooms across the laneway.[2] It presents an annual program of free exhibitions by South Australian, Australian and international artists, and hosts events including artist talks, workshops, celebrations and screenings.[12]

ACE Open's vision is to "transform, expand, create and understand our world through contemporary art". Its mission is: "ACE Open provides space for artists and audiences to champion creativity, forge connection and break new ground in contemporary art".[13]

ACE Open is a member of Contemporary Art Organisations Australia (CAOA, formerly CAOs), a network of "public, independent, non-collecting contemporary art organisations" from around Australia that serves is an advocacy body for Australian small to medium contemporary visual arts bodies, thus helping to promote the work of living artists.[14]

Governance

Its inaugural CEO was Liz Nowell,[2] former CEO of CACSA.[15] Nowell was appointed director of the Institute of Modern Art Brisbane in March 2019.[16]

As of March 2021 the artistic director is Patrice Sharkey and executive director is Louise Dunn (who previously led Nexus Arts). Rainer Jozeps is chair of the board, which includes artist James Darling AM, curator Leigh Robb and writer and museum curator Jared Thomas.[17][18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Foster, Farrin (7 April 2021). "The power of performance: How Adelaide's experimental art scene is being reignited". InDaily. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "An ACE Up Our Sleeves". Broadsheet. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  3. ↑ Mendelssohn, Joanna (2018). "Donald Brook b. 8 January 1927". Design & Art Australia Online.
  4. 1 2 "Industry profile - Australian Experimental Art Foundation - 108692". ArtsHub Australia. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Brook, Donald (27 February 2013). "Master sculptor had passion for experimentation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Faerber, Ruth (14 July 1977). "Art in Adelaide". The Australian Jewish Times. Vol. 84, no. 44. New South Wales, Australia. p. 14. Retrieved 29 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Australian Experimental Art Foundation (AEAF)". ACE Open. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "CACSA, AEAF to Merge in Wake of Australia Council Cuts". The Adelaide Review. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia (CACSA)". ACE Open. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Funding cuts force SA visual arts organisations to merge - InDaily". InDaily. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Meet ACE Open — Art Guide Australia". Art Guide Australia. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "About". ACE Open. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Vision and Mission — ACE Open". ACE Open. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "About". Contemporary Arts Organisations Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  15. ↑ Wallace, Ilona (19 April 2017). "An ACE Up Our Sleeves". Broadsheet. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  16. ↑ Marsh, Walter (27 March 2019). "ACE Open head Liz Nowell appointed director of Brisbane Institute of Modern Art". Adelaide Review. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  17. ↑ "Staff and Board". ACE Open. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "Biography". James Darling & Lesley Forwood. Retrieved 25 March 2021.

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