Witnessing the changing colourway that magically follows spring into autumn will never be more memorable than when Adelaide Botanic Garden hosts Chihuly in the Botanic Garden from 27 September 2024 - 29 April 2025. It will be the first major outdoor exhibition in Australia of works by the world's most celebrated contemporary glass artist, Dale Chihuly.
A once-in-a-lifetime event that will surprise and delight with every visit, Chihuly in the Botanic Garden is part of the artist's world-renowned series of nature-inspired exhibitions.
To date, Chihuly's botanic gardens installations have been seen in the USA, London and Singapore. In this Adelaide exclusive, daytime visitors to the Botanic Garden will be able to see the exhibition for free.
"I have sought an opportunity to return to Adelaide since 2000 when I first presented work at JamFactory," said Chihuly.
"Adelaide Botanic Garden offers so many rich colours and textures - the ideal environment for the placement of my work, and I look forward to sharing this new exhibition with the South Australian community."
The enthralling collection of 15 large-scale hand-blown glass art sculptures and installations, suspended within lush garden beds, rising from waterways, and entwined within trees along a 2km garden trail, features some of Chihuly's most iconic work and also premieres brand-new artwork, created for Adelaide.
Accompanying the free garden trail are ticketed opportunities to experience these delicate yet epically proportioned installations in a dynamic after-dark setting with Chihuly Nights, and to take a deeper dive into this remarkable artist's world with In Full Colour: Dale Chihuly.
A curated showcase of more intimate groupings, In Full Colour: Dale Chihuly sees the artist's works sprout and rise from within the tropical rainforest setting of the Bicentennial Conservatory. The immersive exhibition incorporates an exploration of Chihuly's artistic process and fascinating insights into the creation of these unique, playful and audacious works seen around the world.
Night events in Adelaide Botanic Garden have become part of the city's unique cultural scene, and this spring's Chihuly Nights are an unmissable all-access pass to the complete Chihuly experience. Witness the artist's playful creations transform in colour and form under a setting sun and be reimagined under dramatic nocturnal lighting. Visit In Full Colour: Dale Chihuly and end the evening savouring delicious eats and drinks to a live music soundtrack in the Schomburgk Pavilion.
Across the monumental seven-month run of Chihuly in the Botanic Garden, South Australia's acclaimed centre for glass art, JamFactory will present parallel exhibitions of works by prominent Australian glass artists like Gabriella Bisetto, as well as glass blowing demonstrations, guided tours and talks. JamFactory is a convenient 15-minute free tram ride along North Terrace from Adelaide Botanic Garden.
South Australian Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said Chihuly in the Botanic Garden encapsulates the world-class calibre and widely accessible nature of South Australia's premier major events calendar, particularly its rich cultural component.
"The first major outdoor showcase of Chihuly's work in Australia and the wider southern hemisphere, Chihuly in the Botanic Garden gives visitors of all ages, from near and far, a choice of free and ticketed opportunities to experience a treasured natural attraction in an entirely new way." Minister Bettison said.
What's more, its lifespan across spring, summer, and autumn, alongside some of our longest-running tourism drawcards in the Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival, lends itself to multiple visits, to explore these truly extraordinary sculptures against the changing colours of each season."
Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium Director Michael Harvey said it is a thrill that Dale Chihuly and his team have selected Adelaide for their next major botanic garden exhibition.
"The opening of this project this spring will be a very special time for all of us here," Mr Harvey said.
"As the days grow warmer and longer, Chihuly in the Botanic Garden will become a national drawcard to bring people to Adelaide. The exquisite forms and kaleidoscopic colours of Chihuly's artworks are often described as celebrations of what is found in nature and so there is no more fitting setting to showcase his masterpieces, than within the beautiful Adelaide Botanic Garden."
Image credit: Dale Chihuly, Ethereal Spring Persians, 2022, 6 x 9 x 8'
Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, installed 2023
© 2022 Chihuly Studio. All rights reserved.
Photographer: Nathaniel Willson"
