Adelaide's arts scene gets a midwinter jolt as major exhibitions and live events converge

The first big IMAX cinema projection event in Adelaide since Christopher Nolan's campaign to preserve the format is coming to the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas this weekend. On July 18 and 19, the Prospect Road venue will screen a 70mm IMAX print of Nolan's "Interstellar", one of only a handful of Australian screenings outside Sydney and Melbourne.

The event matters because Nolan's public lobbying over the past year is widely credited with convincing major studios to continue producing IMAX film prints, reversing a trend toward digital-only releases. For Adelaide film buffs, that means access to a format that had all but disappeared from South Australian screens. Palace Nova sold out its first IMAX screening in under four hours, according to the cinema's programming team.

Gallery shows and live music

The Art Gallery of South Australia on North Terrace opened a new photography survey on July 11, "The Eye of the Beholder", featuring 87 works from the gallery's permanent collection. Curators selected prints spanning 1920 to 2025, including recently acquired pieces from Adelaide-based Indigenous photographers. Gallery attendance data shows the winter exhibition period typically draws 40,000 visitors to AGSA between June and August.

Over in the West End, the Queen's Theatre on Gilles Arcade is hosting a five-night run of "The Night Watch", a site-specific theatre piece by local company ActNow Theatre. Performances start at 7.30pm nightly through July 18, with tickets at $45 for adults and $30 for concession. The production uses the theatre's heritage-listed 1840s sandstone walls as a projection surface for animated colonial-era maps.

Practical advice for the week ahead

For IMAX tickets, Palace Nova recommends booking at least three days in advance. The July 18 screening still had 40 seats available as of Monday afternoon, but the July 19 session is nearly sold out. AGSA's photography exhibition runs until October 25, so there's no immediate rush. ActNow Theatre's production is capped at 120 seats per night, making advance purchase advisable.

Parking near the Palace Nova can be tight on weekends; the North Adelaide Parklands car park on LeFevre Terrace is free after 6pm. AGSA offers discounted entry for students with a valid ID: $12 instead of the full $20. For the Queen's Theatre show, the nearest tram stop is Light Square, a five-minute walk east along Currie Street.