SALA FESTIVAL 2026
SALA FESTIVAL 2026
Healing Out Loud
Bianca Joanna Buliga
1 August to 1 October 2026
Opening Times: Mon & Wed at 11-2pm & Sat 3-5pm
"HEALING OUT LOUD began with something I couldn't keep carrying like the grief and the stigma I experience and sometimes create within myself. I've lived my whole life as an undiagnosed neurodivergent person and this project is the ongoing and very confronting process of unmasking.
My approach is based in therapeutic photography techniques and self-portraiture. Each image begins with a feeling I am sitting with and the act of creating it is part of how I move through it, so the photograph is both the process and the outcome. My work is intuitive as I follow what the moment is asking of me and let the image reveal itself rather than forcing it into shape.
This is a bridge for anyone still trying to make sense of their own mind, navigating a world that accommodates them in theory but not always in practice while it is also asking viewers to look closely, beyond the scripts of media portrayal to ask questions rather than assume. I believe stigma thrives behind closed doors, closed minds, and closed mouths, but the moment we start to speak, we open the door to understanding, and with understanding, inclusivity will follow. There is a tendency, when navigating the world as a disabled person, to manage other people's discomfort and frame our lives in ways that reassure rather than challenge. But doesn't discomfort have its own accountability?"
Bianca Joanna is an Adelaide-based photographer and emerging artist whose practice sits at the intersection of mental health advocacy and visual storytelling. Originally from Romania, her work is shaped by lived experience of migration, identity, and belonging, exploring themes of mental health, neurodiversity, and family often through intimate self-portraiture.
You are invited to attend the SALA opening night exhibition of Healing Out Loud on Tuesday 4 August 6-8pm.
Please RSVP here to secure your tickets.
SALA FESTIVAL 2026
Body of Becoming (and Other Desires)
Pat Smith
3 August to 31 September 2026
Opening Times: Mon & Wed at 11-2pm & Sat 3-5pm
Body of Becoming (and Other Desires) is the first major solo exhibition by Adelaide artist Pat Smith, bringing together a vibrant body of work that explores queer identity, colour and the ways we choose to be seen.
Working primarily in painting, Pat combines abstracted male forms with bold colour and geometric composition to create artworks that reward a closer look. From a distance, the works appear as striking arrangements of shape and pattern; up close, they reveal bodies, intimacy and moments drawn from lived queer experience.
Created through a process that transforms digital inspiration into tactile, hand-crafted works, the exhibition reflects a practice grounded in experimentation, visible growth and the confidence to embrace authenticity. It occupies a space between the sanitised and the explicit, celebrating queer male sensuality with warmth, playfulness and nuance.
Body of Becoming (and Other Desires) marks a personal and creative milestone. It is an invitation to experience work that is colourful, quietly subversive and unapologetically present, bringing visibility, curiosity and connection into the gallery, and beyond.
You are invited to attend the SALA opening night exhibition Body of Becoming (and Other Desires) on Monday 3 August at 6-8pm.
Please RSVP here to secure your tickets.
Goodwood Theatre & Studios present:
COMEBACK Festival
13-30 August (Thursday to Sunday)
COMEBACK Meets SALA
This August, Goodwood Theatre & Studios becomes a vibrant hub of creativity as COMEBACK Festival coincides with the South Australian Living Artists (SALA) Festival.
While audiences gather for a Night of Theatre, Food & Connection, they will also have the opportunity to experience the work of two outstanding South Australian visual artists, transforming the venue into a rich and immersive cultural destination.
Together, these exhibitions will fill our gallery spaces, foyer and bar area with colour, story and heart, creating an inspiring backdrop to the COMEBACK Festival experience.
Audiences are encouraged to arrive early, stay after the performances, and immerse themselves in both the visual and performing arts. Whether you're joining us for theatre, conversation, food, or art, COMEBACK and SALA offer a unique opportunity to celebrate the incredible talent of South Australian artists across multiple art forms.
Great art doesn't exist in isolation, it thrives when artists and audiences come together.
COMEBACK with us!!