History
The Adelaide Festival began with efforts by Sir Lloyd Dumas in the late 1950s to establish a major arts festival that would bring to South Australia world-class cultural exhibitions. In 1958, Sir Lloyd organised a gathering of prominent members of the Adelaide business, arts and government community. The proposal for an event similar to the Edinburgh International Festival was supported and the first Festival Board of Governors was formed.
The event began to take form when Sir Lloyd partnered with John Bishop, Professor of Music at the University of Adelaide. The two gained the support of the Lord-Mayor and Adelaide City Council and a financial backing of 15,000 pounds. A number of leading businesses sponsored the first festival including The Advertiser, the Bank of Adelaide, John Martin & Co., the Adelaide Steamship Company, and Kelvinator.
The inaugural Adelaide Festival of Arts ran from 12–26 March 1960 and was directed by Professor Bishop with some assistance from Ian Hunter, the Artistic Director of the Edinburgh Festival. There were 105 shows covering almost all aspects of the arts.
The Adelaide Festival continued to grow in successive years with the support of the South Australian Government. It has developed a number of incorporated events including Adelaide Writers' Week, the world's largest literary festival; WOMADelaide, an iconic world music festival; and, the Adelaide Festival of Ideas, an internationally renowned talkfest. It also spawned the Adelaide Fringe Festival which has become the largest event of its kind in the world after the Edinburgh Fringe. The Adelaide Festival of Arts is seen as a template for other arts festivals, and it has been replicated to some extent by other Australian cities.
Read more about this topic: Adelaide Festival Of Arts
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