Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) and the Samstag Museum of Art are delighted to announce the recipients of the $60,000 2024 AFF/Samstag EXPAND Moving Image Commission.
The commission has been awarded to the three-person team of Susan Norrie (NSW), Matthew Thorne (SA) and Emmaline Zanelli (SA). Their project FIFO is a moving image work which will explore the transitory experience of ‘fly-in, fly-out’ mining work as a means to analyse the broader culture of mining and its role in Australia’s identity. The work will be developed over the next two years for presentation at the Samstag Museum as part of the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.
In addition, two works have been selected for mentoring by Art Gallery of South Australia and Illuminate Adelaide. FLASHOVER, by CJ Taylor (SA) and Robert Walton (Vic), is a moving image installation exploring the power of fire and the experience of being caught in a firestorm. PEACE CENTRE, by Ben Andrews (Vic), Xanthe Dobbie (Vic), Anthony Frith (SA) and Liam Somerville (SA), is a mixed reality tongue-in-cheek exploration of euthanasia, death and the afterlife.
The three moving image works were selected from eight pitches presented on the final day of the 2022 AFF EXPAND Lab. The projects were developed in teams during the week-long inaugural Lab which ran from 23-28 October 2022.
AFF’s CEO & Creative Director Mat Kesting said: “Adelaide Film Festival applauds the 30 participants in the inaugural AFF EXPAND Lab who came together in teams to develop eight unique and insightful projects exploring the urgent themes of our times.
“The selection panel from AFF, Samstag, AGSA and Illuminate Adelaide were highly impressed with all of the presentations, and it was challenging to select the final projects for the commission and mentoring. I congratulate everyone who took part in AFF EXPAND Lab for their creative visions and the high quality of presentations developed in a very short timeframe.”
Erica Green, Director of Samstag Museum of Art and co-commissioner of the EXPAND Commission added: “Samstag is thrilled to be working with the commissioned team to develop FIFO over the next two years. This is an outstanding team who have come together to develop an exciting new artwork. It represents the ongoing partnership between AFF and Samstag to support distinctive new moving image work by Australian artists.”
Hamish Balnaves, CEO of The Balnaves Foundation, a key partner of AFF EXPAND Lab, said: “I was thrilled to be in the audience for the eight pitches and the calibre of each of them was outstanding. The Balnaves Foundation is proud to support the audacious and innovative artists selected for the 2022 Lab and we congratulate each of them. We are particularly excited to see the work that Susan, Matthew and Emmaline create and look forward to its presentation at the Samstag Museum and the Adelaide Film Festival in 2024.”
Arts Minister Andrea Michaels said: “Congratulations to the inaugural AFF EXPAND Lab recipients – I look forward to seeing their project, FIFO, as part of the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.
“One of the many wonderful things about the Adelaide Film Festival is the bold new project development opportunities and the opportunities for collaboration and mentorship amongst Australian creatives. It’s one of the reasons why the South Australian Government has decided to invest $2 million to help annualise and expand the Adelaide Film Festival.”
Adelaide Film Festival presented the inaugural AFF EXPAND Lab in 2022 and plans are already underway to maintain the program into the future. The Lab will continue to bring together visual artists, filmmakers, writers, XR and VR creatives from across Australia to learn from each other, to work with renowned mentors and to develop bold new projects for Australian audiences and beyond. Mentors at this year’s lab included world-leading artists Soda Jerk, Alex Davies and Lynette Wallworth.
AFF EXPAND Lab is a collaboration between the Adelaide Film Festival, Samstag Museum of Art , The Art Gallery of South Australia and Illuminate Adelaide. and is supported by the The Balnaves Foundation, and Arts South Australia.
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