Image: Carly Snoswell, Good Job, The Popeye, 2023. Photograph Sam Roberts
In 2023, for the first time in its 88-year history, one of Adelaide’s iconic Popeye boats became a floating work of art, receiving a unique artistic and lighting makeover in time for festival season.
Commissioned by the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation in celebration of the 100th anniversary of James Ramsay’s birth, the Popeye I boat had a unique artistic makeover. South Australian artist Carly Snoswell was selected to design a vinyl boat cover which resulted in Popeye being adorned with sequin imagery.
The Ramsay Art Boat commission was a unique way to celebrate the anniversary while providing a significant opportunity for a local artist to engage South Australian and visitor audiences with an inspiring artistic experience.
Executive Director Kerry de Lorme said the commission celebrated James and Diana’s special relationship with South Australia and the visual and performing arts throughout their lives, a connection that continues through the Foundation’s work.
“James and Diana were known supporters of the arts community and of South Australia in general,” Ms de Lorme said. “Every South Australian knows the Popeye, and visitors will want to take a look at the artwork both outside and inside the boat, and marvel at its stars as they light the river at night”.
“Diana and James liked to take a risk in promoting the arts, and they would have loved to see this local artist supported with such a prominent piece of art, which all South Australians can enjoy.”
In 2024, the second edition of the Ramsay Art Boat on Adelaide’s iconic Popeye launched. The James and Diana Ramsay Foundation in partnership with The Popeye, Guildhouse, K&S Langley Fund and Arts SA, brought to life a new Ramsay Art Boat for the people and visitors of South Australia.
Artist Alice Lindstrom was comissioned by the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation to create River Tapestry, celebrating the Karrawirra Pari/River Torrens as a place of deep meaning and contemporary recreation.
2023: Good Job by Carly Snoswell
Image: Carly Snoswell, Good Job, The Popeye, 2023. Photograph Sam Roberts
In partnership with Guildhouse, The Popeye, and The City of Adelaide, the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation commissioned Carly Snoswell to transform the Adelaide’s iconic Popeye boat into a floating work of art.
Carly Snoswell’s floating artwork, Good Job, is a joyful celebration of simple daily pleasures and accomplishments, basking in the nostalgia of the iconic Popeye boat along Karrawirra Pari. The gold stars, a symbol of a job well done, epitomise the small achievements in our lives, the happy moments, turning those tiny glimmers into big giant wins.
2024: River Tapestry by Alice Lindstrom
Image: Alice Lindstrom, River Tapestry, The Popeye, 2024. Photograph Andre Castellucci.
In partnership with Guildhouse, The Popeye, K&S Langley Fund and Arts SA, the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation commissioned artist Alice Lindstrom to design the second Ramsay Art Boat.
River Tapestry by Alice Lindstrom celebrates the Torrens as a place where people, animals and plants co-exist, as a vital part of the history and culture of South Australia.As a place of cultural significance for the Kaurna people for thousands of years, Karrawirra Pari/the River Torrens, is a place of deep meaning and contemporary recreation.
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