The Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre will present a fresh suite of exhibitions across its four gallery spaces opening at 5:30pm on Friday 28 August 2026, with Kumarangk, Dagny Strand’s Tide be runnin’…, Shimmering Worlds and Pine Tree Quilters Inc.’s Girls Day Out, offering audiences a wide range of art experiences.
Kumarangk showcases a mix of newly commissioned and existing works by Ngarrindjeri women artists. Central to the exhibition is Ngarrindjeri and Boandik artist Sandra Saunders’ acclaimed Hindmarsh Island Collection, remounted for the first time in two decades and accompanied by a major new work that brings the series to its conclusion. Through paintings and intricate wire works, the collection tells the story of the bridge to Kumarangk (colonially known as hindmarsh island) and celebrates the strength and resistance of Ngarrindjeri women and their allies.
“We are thrilled to once again exhibit the provocative works of Sandra Saunders in Kumarangk, alongside an impressive lineup of high profile First Nations artists in this heartfelt, yet fierce exhibition that explores survival and resistance,” Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre and Cultural Development Director Ashleigh Whatling said.
The exhibition features major new works from Mardawi Art Collective, including Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, alongside Elizabeth Rankine, Margi Sumner, Temeika Campbell, Bessie Rigney, Zemiah Campbell, Debra Rankine and Stephanie Russell and pieces by Aunty Betty Sumner, Sonya Rankine, Carly Tarkari Dodd and ceramics by Tiarnie Edwards.
The Riddoch will also celebrate the talents of one of the Limestone Coast’s own, Penola-based artist Dagny Strand. Strand’s exhibition Tide be runnin’… features painting, drawing and sculpture, using the concept of tidal movements to explore notions of the ‘in-between.’ Both under and above water, tidelands shift continuously with the ebb and flow of the ocean. For Strand, the tidelands are also a metaphor for the human experience and the way the world shifts around us.
Shimmering Worlds, a project first developed through the Adelaide Film Festival EXPAND Lab, blends documentary filmmaking, digital collage and handcrafted props to create an immersive moving-image experience. Drawing on the creativity and contributions of community groups across the Yorke Peninsula, the work transforms local stories, ideas and creations into a dreamlike visual landscape that celebrates the beauty, imagination and poetry of collective endeavour. Audiences are invited to be inspired, intrigued and immersed in this work by artists Liang Luscombe, Orlando Mee and Kim Munro.
Alongside this exhibition on the King’s Floor, Pine Tree Quilters Inc. presents Girls Day Out, a quilting exhibition featuring a collection of works that showcase a diverse range of styles, techniques and applications.
Riddoch Arts and Cultural Centre Curator Chris Clements said the new exhibitions highlight the breadth of artistic practice across South Australia.
“This season presents an incredible and diverse collection of exhibitions from the powerful and political, the dreamy and poetic through to the fun and frivolous – and are all keenly focussed on South Australia, providing perspectives on the broader region as well as the very place we live,” Mr Clements said.
The exhibitions will officially open on Friday 28 August 2026 at 5:30pm. Members of the public are invited to attend the free opening event, with light refreshments and nibbles served. In keeping with the wishes of the Ngarrindjeri Cultural Authority, the event will be alcohol-free.
Following the opening, the community are invited to deepen their engagement with the exhibitions through a series of public programs. Ngarrindjeri Elders Aunty Betty and Aunty Sandra will discuss Kumarangk at 10:30am on Saturday 29 August 2026, offering personal insights and cultural perspectives connected to the exhibition through an ‘in conversation’ event. Later that morning, at 11:45am, artist Liang Luscombe will lead a floor talk for Shimmering Worlds, providing audiences with a unique opportunity to hear directly about the creative process, themes and ideas behind the work.
