FORUM: Our coast - creativity, responsibility and response

Details

When: Friday, May 15, 5:30-7pm
5.30pm arrival

5.45pm Dance Performance by Sandy Marion

6pm - 7pm Forum 

Where: The Mill, 154 Angas Street, Kaurna Yarta, Adelaide

Cost: Free, bookings essential

We invite you to join us for an artist led forum discussing the impact of the South Australian algal bloom, and opening a discussion about climate, ecologies, and our place in the world.

This forum builds on The Sea is Talking, a new exhibition by Toni Hassan currently Showing in Gallery I. Speakers include Toni Hassan, ecologist Dr Faith Coleman and curator Lindl Lawton. The forum will also include a short performance by artist Sandy Marion in response to Toni Hassan’s exhibited video work Death Dance (Longfinned worm eel, Scolecenchelys breviceps).

As chair of the panel, Toni brings her curiosity, advocacy background and creative insights to a lively conversation with a panel of special cross-disciplinary guests, exploring how creative practice can open new ways of thinking, feeling and responding to environmental change. She asks; In the wake of SA’s devastating algal bloom, how can art help us make sense of ecological loss? And as the planet warms, what practical and imaginative roles can South Australians play in caring for our marine ecosystems?

About the exhibition

We are excited to present The Sea is Talking, a new exhibition by Toni Hassan. In this exhibition Toni works across multiple modalities to honour the lives of the countless marine creatures, some of which she witnessed dead, or struggling, as the South Australian coastline became impacted by the harmful algal bloom. Her regular walks along the city’s shoreline have revealed the incredible biodiversity of our local waters, sparking curiosity as well as sadness.

Through large scale coloured pencil drawings, video, and mixed media installation, Toni creates a feeling within the gallery akin to the emotional response she has had on the beach. We feel the physicality of the experience: a sense of awe, coupled with grief. We get a sense of the tide as it often was, washing in with creamy foam, and we observe an eel in a gripping dance, fighting for breath. Toni ponders our current environmental realities, positioning the algal bloom as a barometer for our world, asking, 'If the sea is talking, who's listening?' Further, 'What does it mean to truly listen?'

About our venue

The Mill brings together artists, creatives and businesses to collaborate, create, and inspire one another - all while being supported through expert guidance and artistic programming.

We are an accessible space. Disability access is available via Angas Street, and a disability toilet is also available. More access information is available on our website. If you have any questions or need to get in touch, please contact us at info@themilladelaide.com

Image: Image: Toni Hassan, Behold, the Rainbow Cale (Heteroscarus acroptilus), detail, 2025, courtesy of the artist