Established in 2002 inSPACE is celebrating 21 years in 2023, Adelaide Festival Centres inSPACE Development Program is an incubator of cutting-edge, grassroots, innovative work that supports some of South Australias most talented and exciting independent artists.
To help connect todays audience with the artists of the future, we support all genres ranging from music, dance, theatre, visual arts and hybrid cross art forms.
inSPACE Developments give artists a chance to discover hot new talent and be part of the artistic conversation: sharing, contributing, and learning about how art is created behind the scenes. This creative blurring of the line between artist and audience reinforces Adelaide Festival Centres philosophy, "Arts for All": that the arts belong to everyone.
Expression of Interest now open!
Participate in the 2024 inSPACE Programs! inSPACE Developments provide a unique opportunity for theatre, dance and hybrid performance artists to access venues and services with the Adelaide Festival Centre.
Each artist or group chosen for the annual inSPACE program is provided with 1-2 weeks in-kind rehearsal venue hire (including a provision for technical hire). In addition to this in-kind support, designated funds will be provided to artist/company wages. As an outcome of the residency. Work-in-progress showings are presented to an invited audience at the end of each inSPACE development.
Expressions of interest for 2024 Round 1 inSPACE program open 3 April and will close at 11.59pm on Monday 29 May ACST, with applicants being notified by early June
For further information please contact inspace@adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au or check our FAQs
Adelaide Festival Centre’s inSPACE Development Program 2024 – FAQs
For 2024 we have created new and exciting opportunities, so please read our FAQ document to learn about the different residencies on offer, and discover which one best applies to you.
The inSPACE Development Program looks to support the creation of contemporary new works by South Australian artists centered around innovation, cross-artform, originality and bold ideas and concepts.
This depends on your art form. We define a Creative Development as a work in progress; a concept development; a testing of an idea; or the exploration of an artform.
inSPACE is the residency program of the Adelaide Festival Centre which is delivered directly by us here at the AFC.
inSPACE x firstSPACE is a residency developed to support First Nations creatives.
inSPACE x Dream BIG is a residency in collaboration with the youth focused festival to create new works aimed at young people. (Round 1 only, Development must be completed by end of April 2024, Funded by Dream BIG)
inSPACE x Feast Festival a residency focused on platforming queer stories and artistic expression, co funded by Feast Festival and the Adelaide Festival Centre (Round 1 Only, Co-Funded by Feast Festival)
inSPACE Writers Room is an office space dedicated to supporting writers creating plays, films, poetry, or other performative written forms. This is an unfunded residency, and is space and stationary support only
Your successful application is not a guarantee that your project will receive further support. Adelaide Festival Centre is always on the lookout for new work to present, and for opportunities for local artists. The Development Program is an opportunity to receive support of artist-led projects in their Creative Development stage. All successful participants are encouraged to invite key industry members to a viewing or presentation at the end of the Development in order to enter into a conversation about future stages of their project once their supported development is complete.
Upcoming works
The Bait Fridge
Kicking off inSPACE 2023 is the theatre production Alien Nation, a sonic, visual and social exploration highlighting the many challenges of alienation and belonging. This project is being developed by multi-disciplinary arts collective The Bait Fridge in collaboration with deaf artists, disabled artists and multicultural musicians to highlight various narratives of diversity.
Post Dining
Exploring what food in the future will taste like is Eating Tomorrow, an award-winning interactive performance created by Post Dining. Audiences will be propelled fifty years into the future to see, smell, touch and taste what the future might have in store.
Various People Inc
Another program highlight is theatre show, French Guise that follows the life of Julie d’Aubigny who famously burnt down a convent to escape with her female lover. Created by Various People Inc, audiences can expect virtuosic Baroque music, sword fighting and dance.
Erin Fowler
A new comedy work by renowned Adelaide director, choreographer and performer Erin Fowler will be further developed as part of inSPACE. Part satire and part social commentary, FAFF, draws inspiration from Jane Austen with affectionate mockery, complex choreography and extravagant costumes.
Ben Brooker
Developed for primary school students is Second Nature by award-winning playwright Ben Brooker. This nature-based work about the climate crisis is inspired by pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson and will bring together leading Australian and Indonesian creatives to inspire sustainability, mindfulness and empathy.
Open Space Contemporary Arts
Other children’s shows in development include Tech Mate created by Open Space Contemporary Arts (OSCA). This unique work invites children to take control of the direction and narrative of their play experience. The children will be supported by three highly experienced artists – their Tech Mates!
Jamie Hornsby
Centring on a puppet who wants to become a real-life human being is Shadow from award-winning theatre maker Jamie Hornsby. Shadow is a shadow-puppet musical with a dark-fantasy musical score about the individual and collective journey towards self-acceptance.
Zoe Dunwoodie
Llama is a dance-theatre piece that tells the mythical tale of a woman who loses her sense of reality. This story is inspired by the creator, Zoe Dunwoodie’s personal connection to motherhood and how we carry traumas intergenerationally.
Adelaide Sakura Troupe
Adelaide Sakura Troupe joins inSPACE with contemporary and Japanese Folk dance in Les Japonaises. This dance piece will immerse audiences into a historical space to discuss themes of life and death and its spiritual significance in both Japanese and Western cultures.
Program Partner
With the help the generous support of Osmond Electronics, the 2022 inSPACE program is inspiring, diverse, and represents a variety of genres, approaches, and themes.
