Join us for the Graduate Exhibition Curator Talk bringing together our 2026 Project Curator Crista Bradshaw and four talented exhibiting artists for a panel conversation diving deeper into the concepts and themes of the exhibition.
Get insights into curatorial practice, creative processes and a heads up on what’s next for these emerging artists as they embark on their professional careers.
With support from City of Adelaide, Crista Bradshaw has been mentored as Project Curator of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2026 by Anna Zagala, Associate Curator, Academic Engagement Adelaide University. Read more about the Project Curator opportunity HERE.
Emerging artists Sharon Capriotti (Flinders University), Lisa Crowder (Adelaide University*), Nikolai Sheremetev (Flinders University*) and Steve Soeffky (Adelaide University) represent a diverse cross-section of Adelaide’s emerging arts scene – each bringing their own unique practice, perspective, and experience to our 2026 exhibition.
Don’t miss your chance to see this passionate group of local creatives talk about their work.
KEY INFORMATION
WHEN: Friday 13 March 2026
TIME: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
WHERE: SASA Gallery, Adelaide University, Kaurna Building, Fenn Place, Adelaide
For information about how to get to the SASA Gallery and accessibility please visit HERE.
COST: FREE, all welcome to attend
REGISTER: Register for FREE here.
Hosted by: Crista Bradshaw
Artists: Sharon Capriotti, Lisa Crowder, Nikolai Sheremetev and Steve Soeffky.
ABOUT THE PANELLISTS
Lisa Crowder @li_sacrowder_art
Lisa is an emerging contemporary artist who lives and works on Kaurna land. Lisa’s practice has shifted from traditional painting into sculptural, complex textile installations. Her work focuses on the Anthropocene – exploring how we relate to the planet in our time. Influenced by thinkers like Tim Ingold, she views her materials as part of an active ecology.
Lisa uses a methodology she calls tending. Her creative processes directly reflect her garden practice: thinking through making, nurturing, and quiet observation. This gentle, responsive approach aims to mend ecological transgressions by demonstrating the surprising, strong power of reciprocal connection and repair using “unruly” material. Her work in the exhibition, Hanging Garden (2025) was the recipient of the Mount Horrocks Wines Award.
Nikolai Shemeretev @sher3metev
Nikolai Sheremetev is an emerging artist living in Adelaide, South Australia, with an arts practice based in linocut relief printmaking, watercolour painting and fine line ink drawing. His work, Catherine de Medici (2025) was presented the Hill Smith Art Advisory Award and is part of the biographical portrait series, ‘Hated Queens’, exploring controversial and unpopular female rules from history.
Sharon Capriotti @sharoncapriottiartist
Sharon Capriotti is an emerging artist creating on Kaurna land, with a current practice based in printmaking, cast paper pulp and textile art. Capriotti’s experiences working in the front-line health care sector throughout her life have resulted in exposure to the experiences of society’s most vulnerable and access to significant, yet often closeted events, including severe illness, dying and death. These often act as inspiration for her works, together with exploration of the feminine and feminist experiences, as shown in her work for the exhibition, Eat Me (2025).
Steve Soeffky @soeffky
With a background in Interior Architecture, Steve has a love for furniture making and craft, training at the Jamfactory before setting out to apply design and practical skills into sustainable practice. Steve has spent the last decade concentrating on designing and making with minimal environmental impact, evolving his aesthetic with bold colours, the use of timber and simple, clean design details. His work, Working Together reuses a discarded boardroom to create two desks where almost every piece of the original table has been used. This work was awarded the Adelaide University Postgraduate Award.
ABOUT THE HOST: CRISTA BRADSHAW @cristabradshawart
Crista Bradshaw, a proud Wangkumara contemporary artist based in South Australia’s Barossa region, is gaining recognition for her multidisciplinary practice that spans painting, sculpture, installation and text. Her work draws deeply on her Wangkumara heritage, exploring cultural identity and the enduring impacts of colonial dispossession.
Crista’s practice investigates the ways Aboriginal and Western art forms can come together as expressions of healing and resilience. She has exhibited widely across South Australia, including her solo show Yuru Walbiri-ana: Only Shadow at Burra Regional Art Gallery, Still Self at The Mill in 2023, and through her role as commissioned artist for The Guildhouse Collections Project + City of Adelaide for the 2025 Tarnanthi Festival. You can visit this exhibition Between the Archives: an Indigenous Perspective right now at ART POD on Pirie Street!
Crista’s relationship with Helpmann Academy began in 2023 as a Featured Artist in the Graduate Exhibition, where she received the SALA Award and the Helpmann Academy People’s Choice Award. Since then, she has continued to engage with the organisation through multiple programs, most recently in the Stobie Pole Project 2025.
ABOUT US
Helpmann Academy is proud to run professional development opportunities for emerging creatives. Our 2026 series of talks, workshops and masterclasses aim to empower emerging visual and performing artists with practical knowledge to help build and sustain a successful creative career.
The Helpmann Academy presents guest artists, specialists and panels covering a range of topics throughout the year.
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The Helpmann Academy Project Curator Program is proudly supported by the City of Adelaide.
Image: Anna Zagala (L) and Crista Bradshaw (R) at the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition 2026 Opening Night. Photo credit: Sam Roberts.
*Adelaide University opens in January 2026, drawing on the combined strengths and legacies of the University of South Australia (UniSA) and the University of Adelaide. Adelaide University artists exhibiting at the 2026 Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition may include graduates who have completed a UniSA Bachelor of Contemporary Art, Bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours), or another approved creative degree. These degrees continue to be offered at Adelaide University and can be found here.