Guildhouse celebrates 60 years of service to South Australian visual arts

In 2026 Guildhouse marks an incredible milestone. Six decades of advocacy, representation, professional development, mentorship, network building, artistic opportunities, resource sharing, promotion of best practice, profiling artists, and championing the value of contemporary craft, art and design. To celebrate the thousands of artists, makers and designers who have been, and who continue to be, part of Guildhouse’s rich and diverse story, Guildhouse is pleased to announce a year-long suite of artistic opportunities and supporter activities.

Since its inception in 1966 as the Crafts Association of South Australia; later known as Craftsouth: Centre for Contemporary Craft and Design, and now Guildhouse; the organisation has played a pivotal role in supporting artists and shaping South Australia’s visual arts sector. The 60th anniversary program honours this legacy whilst looking ahead with renewed ambition.

Guildhouse CEO Beth Neate says “As an artist-led organisation founded by artists, Guildhouse’s longevity is thanks to its agility in responding to the needs of artists across the decades. Guildhouse continues to provide personalised, unique and relevant support through theincreasingly complex demands of professional practice. As we head into our 60th year we do so with a renewed vigour and commitment to promoting, uplifting and celebrating the makers, artists and designers who are the very heart and soul of South Australia’s visual arts landscape.”

The 60th year begins with the enhanced Guildhouse Fellowship, a life-changing opportunity supported by the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation and presented and supported by the Art Gallery of South Australia. The Guildhouse Fellowship is a transformative 18-month professional opportunity for a mid-career visual artist with fees increased from $35,000 to $50,000. This Fellowship is one of Australia’s most significant opportunities for mid-career visual artists and the enhanced fee represents a major investment into South Australian artistic excellence.

The anniversary program also includes the launch of a new opportunity for a South Australian artist to engage with Guildhouse’s extensive historical archive and develop new work in response. The Collections Project: 60 Year Archive, supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, will enable an artist to explore the stories, images, text, ephemera and objects from Guildhouse’s collection that reflect the evolution of practice, community and material over six decades. The archive serves as both a celebration and a living resource for future generations.

To continue to provide exhibition opportunities for our members and to build the profile of South Australian contemporary artists, Guildhouse is proud to continue its partnership with Jurlique for the second year. This Jurlique + Guildhouse Exhibition builds on a shared commitment to place, nature and creative practice, bringing together leading Guildhouse Artists over SALA Festival in an indoor and outdoor program that reflects Jurlique’s philosophy of ‘seed to skin’ and Guildhouse’s six-decade legacy of championing sustainable creative careers. Presented as part of SALA, the expanded program in 2026 will include artist-led workshops that invite deeper public engagement, learning and connection.

Alongside this, Guildhouse will present a 60th Anniversary Exhibition. This retrospective tells the story of 60 years of Guildhouse through the artists who have shaped it. The exhibition will be grounded in the organisation’s history, its people, places, histories, cultures, and voices aligning with the exhibition’s intent to showcase the depth and diversity of South Australian contemporary visual arts practice. The program will highlight excellence across visual art, craftand design and reaffirm Guildhouse’s commitment to visibility, advocacy and fair remuneration for artists.

With over 1,200 members across all career stages and disciplines, as well as arts organisations, businesses and guilds the Guildhouse 60th year includes a calendar reflective of our diverse community, both past and present, with a suite of events including artist talks, celebrations and philanthropic opportunities culminating in an End-of-Year Birthday Celebration on the 2nd of December to celebrate the organisation’s history and the artists who have shaped South Australia, its people, places, histories, cultures.

As part of the anniversary year, Guildhouse invites supporters, philanthropists and partners to become members of the Diamond Collective; a new fundraising initiative launching in the first half of the year. Contributions to the Diamond Collective will directly support the delivery of the Guildhouse 60th Anniversary Exhibition Program, enabling Guildhouse to offer as many paid exhibition opportunities as possible to artists from past programs and to present a powerful retrospective of South Australian visual art, craft and design across six decades.

In October Guildhouse will invite our entire network to engage with us in our 60th Anniversary Fundraising Celebration bringing supporters, partners and the wider community together to honour the past, invest in the future and formally launch the Artists’ Futures Fund. The event will celebrate the generations of artists who have come before, while creating momentum for a strong and expansive future. The development of the Artists’ Futures Fund is a strategic initiative designed to strengthen Guildhouse’s organisational sustainability and resilience, ensuring the organisation can continue its vital work in advocacy, sector leadership and professional development for decades to come.

Through its 60th anniversary program, Guildhouse reaffirms its role as a sector leader in South Australia and nationally: celebrating history, building the future, investing in excellence, and creating the conditions for artists, makers and designers to thrive for the next 60 years and beyond.

For media enquiries, interviews or further information, please contact:

Merinda Edwards, Guildhouse Partnerships + Development Manager
merinda.edwards@guildhouse.org.au
(08) 8410 1822