​Revealing how materials, selfhood and society are tested - and transformed - under pressure.


Image: Brian Fuata, born Aotearoa New Zealand 1978, Errantucation (mist opportunities), 2021 / Performance improvisations commissioned for ‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT10). QAGOMA, Brisbane, 2021. © the artist. Courtesy of the artist and Sumer. Photograph by C Callistemon, QAGOMA.

Samstag is currently closed while we install our Parnati season exhibition.

We will reopen on Friday 27 February with the 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Yield Strength — an Art Gallery of South Australia exhibition presented in association with Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Botanic Garden.

 

The 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Yield Strength, curated by Ellie Buttrose, will be presented as part of the 2026 Adelaide Festival.

Yield Strength reveals how materials, selfhood and society are tested - and transformed - under pressure. Twenty-four artists push their media to build visual complexity, or contort them to convey the curious side of existence. Remaining attentive to aesthetic details and receptive to the intricacies of life, the exhibition fosters intimacy through layered viewing experiences across the Art Gallery of South Australia, Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Botanic Garden.

It features new works by Robert Andrew, Nathan Beard, Lauren Burrow, Francis Carmody, Mark Maurangi Carrol, Milminyina Dhamarrandji, Matthew Teapot Djipurrtjun, George Egerton-Warburton, Prudence Flint, Brian Fuata, d harding, Matthew Harris, Helen Johnson, Kirtika Kain, Jennifer Mathews, Archie Moore, Josina Pumani, Julie Nangala Robertson, Erika Scott, Joel Sherwood Spring, Charlie Sofo, John Spiteri, Isadora Vaughan and Emmaline Zanelli.

Samstag will present work by ten of the twenty-four artists including: Nathan Beard / Milminyina Dhamarrandji / Matthew Teapot Djipurrtjun / Prudence Flint / d harding / Matthew Harris / Kirtika Kain / Josina Pumani / John Spiteri / Isadora Vaughan

The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art remains the pre-eminent and longest-standing survey of contemporary Australian art. As a vital component of the Adelaide Festival since 1990, the 19th Adelaide Biennial builds on its reputation and commitment to supporting and celebrating innovative and ambitious practices.

 

 

Upcoming Events

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Yield Strength Vernissage Weekend at Samstag /
Art criticism. Panel discussions.
Artist talks. Performance.

Join us for a day of public programming to welcome the 2026 Adelaide Biennial at Samstag.

Friday 27 February
The Critic Lecture: Professor Daniel Browning 11.00 am — 12.00 pm
Artist Talk with Milminyina Dhamarrandji and Isadora Vaughan 2.00 — 2.30 pm
Panel discussion: Why biennials need critics 2.30 — 3.30 pm
Special Performance by Brian Fuata + Welcome Drinks 3.30 — 5.00 pm

Samstag Museum of Art
Free. All welcome.
View more details and register here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Samstag Museum of Art acknowledges the Kaurna people as traditional custodians of the land upon which the Museum stands.
Samstag exhibition seasons refer to Kaurna weather patterns, used with approval from Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi (KWK).