An historic project will help power South Australia’s History Festival from May 1-31.
A massive outdoor exhibition featuring 100 portraits of 100 South Australians will showcase the festival’s 2024 theme: Power.
The 100 Portraits of Power outdoor exhibition will be free to view on selected Stobie Poles around the state as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Stobie Pole.
A selection of the portraits – taken by acclaimed photographer Jonathan van der Knaap – will also be seen on five of the unique covers of the History Festival program, available now.
Notable portrait subjects include author Hannah Kent, AFL executive and Indigenous social activist Tanya Hosch, actor Tilda Cobham Hervey, Lieutenant-Governor of SA and Thai cave rescue hero Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris OAM, journalist and broadcaster Annabel Crabb and former AFL player Chad Cornes.
Presented by the History Trust of South Australia, the 2024 History Festival typically welcomes tens of thousands of people to the more than 500 events around the state.
“I can think of no better way to showcase the theme of power than by having 100 people telling 100 stories in this way,” History Trust chief executive Greg Mackie OAM said.
“These incredible portraits, coupled with their subject’s fascinating perspectives offer insights into what South Australians are thinking about power in 2024. What will people think of power in another 20 years’ time?”
From humble beginnings in 2004, the History Festival has grown from a modest 10-day program called ‘History Week’ to a month-long festival that is unique in Australia and a welcome fixture in South Australia’s cultural calendar.
This year’s event includes 158 regional events across the state including Material Girls at Walkway Gallery, a guided tour of Glencoe Woolshed, and a wonderful community project at Naracoorte’s The Sheep’s Back Museum called Bring & Tell.
Other must-attend events in 2024 include: the Yalumba Cooperage Experience; the 100th anniversary of the Stobie Pole tour of SA Power Networks manufacturing facility; cultural awareness training with Southern Cultural Immersion at the City of Burnside, and a magical history bus tour to Mount Bryan East – the birthplace of explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins with the History Trust of South Australia.
To help people navigate the 90-page program, there are five Focus Programs: sub-categories that connect audiences with events that may suit special interests while amplifying voices related to key causes, which include Rainbow History, Children and Family, First Nations, From Many Places (supported by Multicultural Communities Council of SA) and Open Doors.
For the full listing and description of events, including those across wide ranging regional destinations (158 of the festival’s events are in regional SA), head to festival.history.sa.gov.au – or pick up a printed program from Drakes Supermarkets, public libraries, and South Australia’s History Festival event venues.
This year’s major supporters include Freemasons SA&NT/Keystone Adelaide, Government of South Australia, City of Adelaide, SA Power Networks, Drakes, Yalumba, Piccadilly Cinemas, Kalyra, Multicultural Communities Council of SA, Mile End Office Furniture, Festival City Adelaide, Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, Wakefield Press and Channel 44.
