What is South Australia's identity without its festivals?

"The Festival State" moniker has been the pride of South Australia for decades, but a division between artists and one major centre is raising questions about its place in the state's identity.Artists are concerned the ground work of more than 40 years that built that reputation is slowly being chipped away with the closure and pausing of a number of festivals.The issues facing the viability of festivals are not unique to South Australia, but few places have so heavily carved their identity on their existence, including a designation as Australia's only UNESCO City of Music.The 18-year run of Adelaide Guitar Festival came to an end last year, while 2026's 20-year-old OzAsia Festival will be the event's last.The changes are a signal of a shift in priorities for the creators of those events, Adelaide Festival Centre, despite it saying South Australia is still "The Festival State"."I don't think it's absolutely necessary to the identity of South Australians that we have festivals," chief executive Kate Gould said.Kate Gould says the Adelaide Festival Centre is heading a new direction under her leadership. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)"They are great things to have … I'm very committed to the festival model but, equally, I see opportunity for lots of other events that we can have year-round in other forms."Ms Gould stepped into the CEO role in July 2025, ending her predecessor's almost two-decade stint, and said new events were coming.She said lots of people were not attending existing events, and audiences need to be listened to as much as artists under her direction."We want to make an enduring impact, not just a sugar hit," she said.Meanwhile, state Arts Minister Kyam Maher said festivals were an "absolute priority" for the government."It is critical to South Australia, it's really important to how we see ourselves and how others see us," he said.The Angels began their career in Adelaide in the 1970s and have been involved in a number of local festivals. (ABC News: Ben Pettitt)'What makes Adelaide great'Bassist for iconic SA band The Angels Sam Brewster has spent time between Adelaide and Sydney across his career, and believes South Australia's festivals brought vibrancy to the community."I think it's a big part of what makes Adelaide great," Mr Brewster said."We've got the perfect landscape for it … It's an accessible city, it's set up really well."Festivals provide opportunities for local artists to share billings with world-class, established performers.Harvest Rock's 2026 hiatus is the second time the festival has taken a year off since it began in 2022. (Supplied: Harvest Rock)Beyond the Festival Centre, other festivals have left the SA events calendar too.Harvest Rock took a pause this year while Laneway Festival decided to skip Adelaide in 2027.Award-winning cabaret and musical theatre performer Millicent Sarre said it painted a concerning picture for the future of the arts sector in South Australia."I do worry for the emerging artists of our current times who are incredibly talented and vibrant … with the current state of our state arts whether or not [making a career] is possible," Ms Sarre said.Millicent Sarre wants to see arts organisations across the board supported to market their programs to audiences. (ABC News: Shannon Pearce)At a crossroadsMultiple South Australian arts organisations have had leadership changes in the last two years, including Adelaide Fringe, State Theatre Company South Australia and Adelaide Writers' Week.Ms Sarre believed the timing had created an opportunity for change in the industry and hoped the government would do more than it had to show it recognised the "overwhelming" cultural contribution of the arts to the state. "The festivals that we have seen collapsing around us and coming to a close very sadly have made it very apparent that we're at a real crossroads in terms of our artistic output as a state," she said."You could have the nicest frigging seats in the Adelaide Festival Centre and it doesn't matter if there's nothing on stage for people to sit in and watch."If changes are not made to the direction the state's arts sector is going, Millicent Sarre thinks it could jeopardise SA's cultural identity. (ABC News: Shannon Pearce)In this year's state budget, $49.3 million of the $50.5 million arts funding was directed to the construction of an Arts and Media Hub to house the ABC, State Theatre Company, State Opera and Country Arts South Australia.Mr Maher said the state government had spent almost $250 million on the sector in its last term, including $50 million on infrastructure upgrades at the Festival Centre.He said the government has committed $20 million to the Adelaide Fringe over the next four years.