Samstag Museum facts for kids
The Samstag Museum of Art, also known as the Samstag Museum, is an art gallery located in Adelaide, Australia. It is part of the University of South Australia (UniSA) at its CityWest campus. The museum officially opened in October 2007. It was named in honor of Anne and Gordon Samstag, two American people who greatly supported Australian culture. Their generous gift helps Australian artists study art overseas.
The museum actually existed before 2007 under different names and in various places. It started around 1977 as the College Gallery. In 1991, when the University of South Australia was created, the gallery became the University of South Australia Art Museum. It moved to its current City West location in 1998.
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About the Samstag Museum
The Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art opened in the Hawke Building at UniSA's CityWest campus in October 2007. It is often called the Samstag Museum of Art or simply the Samstag Museum.
The museum is named after Anne and Gordon Samstag. They were important American supporters of Australian art. Their special gift helps Australian artists study in other countries. Gordon Samstag was an American artist himself. He taught at the South Australian School of Art from 1961 to 1970. Gordon was born in New York in 1906. His art is shown in many places in the United States. The Samstags moved to Florida in 1976. Anne passed away in 1987, and Gordon in 1990.
The Museum shows contemporary visual art. This means it displays art from our time. It also features older art that is still important today. The museum aims to offer something interesting for everyone. The Museum also looks after and grows the University of South Australia Art Collection.
Cool Art Exhibitions
The Samstag Museum hosts many exciting art shows. These exhibitions often change, so there's always something new to see.
Adelaide//International Series
The Samstag Museum used to host a series of three Adelaide International art shows. These were in partnership with the Adelaide Festival of Arts between 2010 and 2014.
Later, in 2019, the Samstag started a new series called "Adelaide//International." This new cycle also included three exhibitions. They were part of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Adelaide Festivals.
2019 Exhibition
The 2019 Adelaide//International show featured works by four artists. They were Brook Andrew and Eugenia Lim from Australia. Also featured were Lisa Reihana from New Zealand and Ming Wong from Singapore. Their art explored how colonisation affected indigenous culture.
2020 Exhibition
The 2020 exhibition focused on an art piece called Somewhere Other. This was created by John Wardle Architects with Natasha Johns-Messenger. It was Australia's entry in the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. The show also included art by other artists like David Claerbout and Brad Darkson. This exhibition was supposed to run from February to June. However, it closed early in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
Special Exhibitions
2013: Laurie Anderson
In 2013, the Festival director worked with the Samstag Museum. They created a special project called Laurie Anderson: Language of the Future. It showed works by artist Laurie Anderson from 1971 to 2013. Laurie Anderson also performed her Duets on Ice outside the museum on the opening night.
2019: Anzac Day Shows
On Anzac Day 2019, two new exhibitions opened at the Samstag. One was For Country, For Nation. This show looked at the experiences of Indigenous Australians during World War I. The other exhibition was Reality in flames. It featured art by modern artists like Nora Heysen and Sidney Nolan. Their art showed their feelings about World War II.
Samstag Scholarships
The Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarships started in 1991. They were created from a gift left by the Samstags. These scholarships help Australian artists study overseas for twelve months. Each scholarship gives money for living costs, flights, and school fees. Each year, several scholarships are given out to talented artists.
Many artists have received these scholarships. Some past recipients include Megan Walch (1994) and John Kelly (1995). Other artists like Darren Siwes (2002), Shaun Gladwell, and Julie Gough have also been Samstag Scholars.
