10 December 2024
Our HA>NESS Development Grants support projects that are designed to further the creative and professional development of emerging creatives.
We are thrilled to announce in our second HA>NESS Development Grant round, three emerging creatives have received grants of up to $3,000 each to realise an exciting range of projects.
Scott Foreman, HA>NESS Ambassador, was delighted to join the selection panel and have a hands-on role with this grant round.
Congratulations to the 2024 recipients!
Benjamin Uhrig is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, DJ, and promoter working on Kaurna Land (Adelaide). In his emerging years, Ben distinguished himself as a multi-faceted artist, performing and promoting as a DJ at many of Adelaide’s foremost dance-music clubs as a support for a range of internationally recognised acts, while also studying jazz saxophone at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide.
In 2025, Ben will undergo a mentorship with Los Angeles saxophonist Joshua Johnson. He will focus on integrating external electronic equipment, such as effects pedals, samplers, and synthesisers, with the saxophone to expand its role in ensemble settings beyond its traditional melodic function.
The culmination of the mentorship will be two days of recording at Twin Earth Recording Studios with other musicians who share a passion for blending electronic and acoustic music elements. These sessions will capture the creative output from the mentorship, culminating in a future EP for release in late 2025. The project aims to merge electronic genres like house and techno with jazz and experimental music, evolving organically throughout the mentorship and collaborative process.
“The opportunity to learn from such a pioneer of not only the instrument I have dedicated the most of my learning to, but also of using auxiliary/electronic equipment to manipulate the instrument’s very role in ensemble and solo work is second to none. My learnings from Josh Johnson, plus the opportunity to record using the skills and experience gained from our lessons come at a pivotal time in my practice, and I have no doubt this experience will give me great clarity and guidance on the path I wish to follow as an artist.” – Benjamin Ehrig
Eliana Della Flora is an emerging artist based in Kaurna Country (Adelaide), working primarily in glass to create sculptural works and installations. She is interested in the relationship between humans and the material world, by the information passively or actively embodied in materials, and how they are categorised in the search for meaning. Eliana is captivated by the materiality of glass, which she approaches as Materia Prima that can be transformed into seemingly limitless possibilities. She employs both traditional and experimental glassmaking techniques and materials to create unique glass pieces, often subtly influenced by her background in science.
“This project will be a pivotal opportunity for my career development, enabling me to create new works for my upcoming exhibition, Internal Worlds, at Collective Haunt in June 2025.” – Eliana Della Flora
The works will invite viewers to look beyond the surface, incorporating elements like subtle text, layered glass, urban and industrial metals, and carefully manipulated light to enhance depth and reveal internal structures. The creation process will be iterative, involving preparation in the studio, glassblowing and coldworking at the JamFactory, and continuous refinement.
The HA>NESS Development Grant is going to enable Eliana to access the necessary resources, including additional glassblowing and coldworking time, allowing her to produce a cohesive and high-quality body of work for this important exhibition. The support will facilitate Eliana’s growth as an artist, help her refine her technique, and assist with establishing her reputation in the glass and sculpture communities.
Rotpunkt is a new Adelaide theatre collective formed by Shant Becker, Franca Lafosse, Lauren Jones, and Luke Furlan. Their mission is to create exciting, innovative, and boundary-pushing theatre and live performance which engages younger audiences and is part of Adelaide night life. In 2024, they produced their premiere play, an anti-fascist dark comedy titled H. In 2024, they were also participants in Helpmann Academy’s Creative Innovator Program.
With support from a HA>NESS Development Grant, Rotpunkt will present The Menagerie Night, a multi-disciplinary performance event at Queens Theatre, featuring a selection of emerging local artists across theatre, music, dance, and circus. The event will be structured with performances spaced throughout the evening in a casual, interactive setting.
The goal of the event is to foster community and collaboration among Adelaide’s independent performing artists, strengthen Rotpunkt’s presence in the local arts scene, and attract broad audiences to the experience.
“The HA>NESS Development Grant is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to collaborate with a large number of performing artists for the first time. Our collective’s mission is to engage Adelaide audiences in new ways, and this support from Helpmann will allow us to create a new live performance event which engages fellow performers on a new scale while helping us to develop our skills as performance-makers, facilitators, and theatre producers.” – Rotpunkt
HA>NESS Development Grants are supported by HA>NESS Members.
HA>NESS is proudly supported by LK Law and Macquarie Group. With special thanks to Chris and Christine Guille.
Images: (1) Benjamin Uhrig by Isabel Armstrong (2) Eliana Della Flora, Unseen, 2023. Image courtesy of artist (3) Rotpunkt in a scene from H. Photo by Oliver Ali.