The 2008 South Australian Living Arts Festival has begun and as usual, contains lots of interest for those inclined towards the visual arts, there’s a lot of great stuff on, but here’s a list of some of the things that have caught my eye from the program.

Still: Amalia Alpareanu – An installation of works in hand-made and recycled Japanese paper @ Artlab, 70 Kintore Avenue, Adelaide.

Wonder Stuff: Various – Messy Assemblages, delicate linework and banal black & white paintings, ust my sort of thing @ FELTSPACE, 12 Compton Street, Adelaide.

Thong Cycle: Gerry Wedd – My pick of the festival. Gerry was a lecturer when I was at Uni and in my humble opinion, one of the best designers (and most underated) in the country. The exhibition covers his work acrossthe disciplines jewellery, graphics and ceramics and coincides with the launch of a monograph on his work (which is a little dry layout wise, but well worth picking up @ JamFactory Studio Works Retail Gallery.

Mango SALA Salso – A Display or works created by the current and former staff of Mango Chutney Design, the designers for this years festival @ Malcolm Reid Building, 2nd Floor, 187 Rundle Street Adelaide.

IAmMe – This looks really cool, it’s an exhibition of young artists from across the state aged between 5-18. The artists were directed to illustrate what matters to them, the results are consistently insightful and refreshing @ Nova Cinema, Rundle St, Adelaide

Open Studio: Angus Rayner – Really like the work, adoration of the female form, non conforming, unrestricted, emotional, bold, intense, random, tribal etc (as the program will tell you @ Raynart Studio Gallery, 194a Wright St, Adelaide

The Artisans – One of my favourite local acts from the 90s, featuring Gerry Wedd on vocals, back together for this gig to celebrate the launch of his monograph, it’s free too, good deal! @ The Jade Monkey, 8pm, Aug 2, Twin St, Adelaide.

Black & White In Focus: Brian Morris – Graphic Photography in monochrome using authentic silver-gelatin processes, sounds promising, well worth a look @ Burnside Council – Atrium Gallery, 401 Greenhill Rd, Tusmore.

Dreams & Visions: Various – An Amalgamation of Australian and Indigenous Art @ Marie Hart Galleries, 11 Marina Pier, Holdfast Shores, Glenelg.

Mexico Moments: Barb Cawthorne – I saw a lot of Mexican inspired artwork on a recent trip to Los Angeles, I’ve become a big convert to the style, hopefully this exhibition will capture some of that @ Cafe 101, 101 Lipson St, Port Adelaide

Learning To Walk: Harry Koch, Jacky Spencer – Exhibition of photography using plastic cameras, sounds like fun and I’m a fan of the equipment @ Shutterbug Studios, 142 Commercial Rd, Port Adelaide

Cartoonists Let Loose! Various – I work (and in the case of Don Hatcher have been taught by) with a lot of the talented guys in this exhibition, sure to be spectacular and a lot of fun @ Aldgate Village, 232 Mt Barker Rd, Aldgate.

So that’s what I’ve come across after a quick skim through the program, I’ll maybe add more as I see it. Let me know anything you’ve seen that was fantastic, anyway – lots to get amongst there, pick up a program and go see some stuff.The Artisans