Artists announced for 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum

Tina-Stefanou-Hym(e)nals-2022The Art Gallery of South Australia has announced the twenty-four participating artists for the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum, curated by José Da Silva. The exhibition will be presented from 1 March to 2 June 2024 as part of the 2024 Adelaide Festival.

The Artists are: Clara Adolphs (NSW), James Barth (QLD), Christopher Bassi (QLD), Seth Birchall (NSW), Kaye Brown (Nt), Jacobus Capone (WA), George Cooley (SA), Ali Cobby Eckermann (SA), Lawrence English (QLD), Ruha Fifita (QLD), Teelah George (VIC), Paul Knight (Ger), Kate Llewellyn X Adelaide Chamber Singers (SA), Jessica Loughlin (SA), Peter Maloney (ACT), Jazz Money (NSW), Lillian O’Neil (VIC), Nik Pantazopoulos (VIC), Khaled Sabsabi (NSW), Markrit Santiago (NSW), Vivienne Shark Lewitt (VIC), Tina Stefanou (VIC), Heather B. Swann (TAS) and Jasmin Togo-Brisby (QLD).

Inner Sanctum offers an encounter with artists and poets interested in the human condition. The project unfolds across exhibitions, performances and talks that explore our engagement with the world and each other.

Here, the idea of an inner sanctum illustrates the private or sacred spaces we create and the faculty of imagination that allows us to see culture and society differently.

Inner Sanctum offers a snapshot of contemporary Australia that is reflective and hopeful,” said curator José Da Silva. “We see works that conjure expressions of time and atmosphere, relationships between ancestral knowledge and spiritual guidance, and a slower, less transactional, more sustainable engagement with the world.”

“We find our inner sanctum in gardens and walking tracks, memories and stories of home and family, locations of special knowledge and sacred activities, and, importantly, the working spaces of artists and the art museum environment,” said Da Silva.

“Now, more than ever, people are seeking places of refuge and sanctuary. The 2024 Adelaide Biennial enlivens our imagination with diverse expressions of belief, emotion, and the intricacies of human experience,” said AGSA Director Rhana Devenport ONZM.

“We invite you to take the time to visit next year to explore this thoughtful and timely exhibition and find your inner sanctum,” said Ms Devenport.

“South Australia led the way when it launched the first Biennial with the Adelaide Festival in 1990. 34 years on, the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art continues to play a critical role in connecting Australian audiences with the contemporary artists of our time,” said Minister for the Arts Andrea Michael MP.


Presented throughout AGSA, the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum will be presented from 1 March to 2 June 2024 as part of the 2024 Adelaide Festival. A complete program of events and performances will be announced in the new year. For more information, visit: www.agsa.sa.gov.au for details.

Image: Tina Stefanou, Hym(e)nals, 2022. Four-channel video projection from performance documentation, quadraphonic sound – courtesy of the artist – photo by Wil Normyle