Country Arts SA pays respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognises their continuing connection and spiritual relationship to these lands, waters and skies. We are committed to listening and helping care for Country, and to safeguard, share and celebrate First Nations’ living cultures.
Introducing our 2026 program
Country Arts SA is thrilled to announce our 2026 program, bringing powerful stories, breathtaking performances, and inspiring exhibitions across South Australia.
A landmark First Nations project exploring the true story of the Ngarrindjeri women who resisted the construction of the Hindmarsh Island bridge in Goolwa headlines the Country Arts SA 2026 season, launched today.
Kumarangk will include three creative outcomes over 2026 and 2027, including a visual arts exhibition, documentary film and on-Country theatrical performance, which will form part of Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Film Festival.
Through the process of truth-telling, the project seeks to provide a form of restorative justice for the Ngarrindjeri women, by replacing the vitriol they faced at the time in defending their culture and Country with appreciation from a new generation of audiences who will, critically, learn about history from a First Nations perspective.
Country Arts SA is guided by the Ngarrindjeri mi:minar Cultural Authority, who are Sandra Saunders, Aunty Ellen Trevorrow, Aunty Margaret Brodie (representing her late mother, Aunty Veronica Brodie) and Tahlia and Illira Wanganeen (representing their nana, the late Dr Doreen Kartinyeri).
The story has not been told from their perspective, until now.
2026 also marks the 15th year of Nunga Screen (formerly known as Black Screen) — a 90-minute short film program from First Nations filmmakers, screened annually during NAIDOC and Reconciliation Week.
Over that time, this free annual event which shows across the state at cinemas, community halls and schools, has seen remarkable growth.
An expansion into the corporate market has seen Nunga Screen reach a national audience and, reaching even further, this year CASA celebrated a milestone with the program being seen internationally.
Also as part of the 2026 season, CASA is putting regional SA back on the live music map with the debut of contemporary touring program Soundworks.
Lose to Win, a Belvoir St Theatre production, follows Mandela Mathia’s extraordinary journey from fleeing his war-torn home in South Sudan to Egypt and finally to the Australian stage.
State Theatre Company’s queer, comedy play about power, privilege and private school, Trophy Boys, multi-award-winning cabaret performer Michelle Pearson’s Skinny, Slingby’s epic triptych A Concise Compendium of Wonder encompassing three works The Childhood of the World, The Tree of Light and The Giant’s Garden, and a show for schools Whalebone are also highlights.
We also have some incredible exhibitions touring the state including; skopos by Susie Althorp, Finite Bounty by Dan Withey, Woven within Stars and AGSA Screen: Wavelength.
“We are proud to tour this program of new works to regional communities so all South Australians can be a part of the conversations art creates,” Country Arts SA chief executive Anthony Peluso said.
“Along with our touring program, we share great visual arts exhibitions and continue to support arts and culture across the state through our grants programs for artists and community groups.”
Country Arts SA executive programmer Sarah Knight said: “Our 2026 season features exceptional new work by women, non-binary and First Nations voices across new work, reflecting how strongly these voices are shaping contemporary Australian stories.”
Get a taste of our 2026 program below.