The Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival are the biggest events in our state's calendar, attracting artists and audiences from around the world. The State Library has been collecting Fringe and Festival programmes and ephemera since the 1960s.
What is Ephemera?
‘Ephemera’ refers to things that are made for short-term use, usually to convey information about events, people, places or moments in time. These items are not meant to last long and are often discarded after their immediate purpose is fulfilled. Examples of ephemera include event programmes, promotional flyers, tickets, posters, and are largely collected through donations for future research use.
Why do we collect Ephemera?
The State Library has collected ephemera material for a very long time across a wide range of subject areas. Despite their temporary nature, ephemera can provide valuable insights into past social and cultural contexts when studied by historians, researchers, and collectors. Researchers with a range of perspectives, use these collections in their work, including to support Australian Research Council grants whom we partner with.
Why we collect festival ephemera
Festival and event ephemera tell the story of our arts and entertainment scene and reflect changing social, political and personal issues.
What we are collecting
This year the State Library is keen for the public, artists or event organisers to donate their Fringe or Festival ephemera from locations outside of the Adelaide city area. We will also continue to collect material from the Adelaide city area.
At present the Library’s collection has a focus on Adelaide city venues. To get a better representation of our community, we would like to have more material from events held in outer-metropolitan and country venues. Some of the locations that have venues in this year’s Fringe and Festival include:
| Aldgate | Port Adelaide |
| Clarendon | Port Noarlunga |
| Cleve | Salisbury |
| Mount Gambier | Stirling |
| Murray Bridge | Strathalbyn |
| Naracoorte |
Where to send your festival material
Send your material to:
Festival Ephemera
Published Collections
State Library of South Australia
GPO Box 419
Adelaide SA 5001
You can also visit us and bring your material to the State Library.
Thank you for helping to build the collections of your State Library and capturing the stories that make us.