The Southern Cross | August 2024

An art gallery dedicated to showcasing work by South Australian artists living with disability or mental health barriers adds a splash of colour and positivity to Adelaide’s CBD.

Bearded Dragon Gallery is a social enterprise business run by Community Bridging Services (CBS) Inc. The goal is helping people achieve success, in this case through creativity.

A special SALA (South Australian Living Artists) exhibition called Organic Visions showcases work by four artists: Michelle Chiles who works with ink and wood to create varnished wooden wall pieces, abstract colourist Robert Eckert who creates beautiful pieces with acrylics and watercolours, John ‘Bundy’ Bannerman (a former rural truck driver who was forced to change careers after an injury) and works with acrylics on copper sheets, and Sonja Garnaut who creates intricate mandala designs.

Sonja says art is a way for her to heal.

“There are chapters of my life that are still with me and that I’m processing,” she said. “Stuff I put aside for a long time, and it was time for me to look at. I was diagnosed with childhood PTSD, and I had to go inward, there was no other choice.”

What began as small-scale paintings on rocks during Covid lockdowns, soon turned more serious.

“Over the years they got bigger,” Sonja said. “I hyper-focus on things so I just wanted each one to be that bit better.”

The stunning pieces are part of the head turning collection of work on display at Bearded Dragon Gallery, which hosts up to four exhibitions a year.

The space provides an opportunity to make income from their art.

“It’s a great spot,” said gallery manager Bailey Johnson. “We’re fortunate to be in Gays Arcade where people can walk by and see us. It’s just near Rundle Mall and off Adelaide Arcade. There are a lot of unique businesses here so it’s great that a social enterprise like the Bearded Dragon Gallery can be part of that.”

Sonja remembers the first time she spotted the creative haven.

“I was having a coffee with my daughter and aw the gallery and thought, ‘hmm, this feels like something I could be part of’,” she said. “I love painting as a hobby, but I can’t just fill up my shed with mandalas. They need to come out of the shed and into the world. When I’m writing and being creative it helps me, and I know that when I help myself, I’m helping others.”

The gallery and the work in it are also conversation starters.

“There’s a lot of shame and stigma around mental health,” Sonja said.

That’s where staff like senior art gallery assistant Sophie Newman are invaluable.

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