Leila Day has her next art exhibition at the Roxby Link Art Gallery from 27th March to 8th May. Opening night is Tuesday 28th March. Leila is a contemporary visual artist based in Andamooka, South Australia. ‘Amorphous’ is her latest exhibition with large-scale resin on canvas exploring the amorphous nature of opal. The scale of these works gives you an idea of what it is like staring into opal through the microscope. An oozy liquid filling gaps in Cretaceous sediments slowly becomes a solid, leaving only static structural disorder. It is colourful chaos frozen in time.
February 2023, Leila curated the Cal the Stoner Presents: ‘Death by Carrot Infinity Loop Tour’. A live music, arts, and astronomy collaboration with Death by Carrot, Desert Live Bare, Andamooka Observatory, Woomera Observatory, and PK Imaging.
Last year Leila hosted her ‘Cretaceous Creatures’ SALA Exhibition at the Andamooka Observatory from 1st August – 3rd September. A wonderful live music, arts, and astronomy collaboration with Death by Carrot, Exotic Potion Cookies, Desert Live Bare, Andamooka Observatory, Woomera Observatory, and PK Imaging closed the Cretaceous Creatures Exhibition on Saturday, 3rd September 2022.
August 2022 Leila hosted her ‘Aliens Amongst Us – Cephalopods’ exhibition at the Andamooka Observatory. This event was supported by SALA and was a collaboration with Country Arts SA and National Science Week.
August 2022 Leila was road crew and helped to host ‘Euphoria’- a play by Emily Steel presented at the pop-up cinema in Andamooka Community Church with County Arts SA.
June 2022, Leila hosted ‘Nunga screen 2022’. Nunga Screen featured an entertaining program of independent short films for all ages from emerging to the more established film-makers. Inspiring documentaries, compelling tales, dramas, animation, contemporary to traditional storytelling – this film event was dedicated to bringing communities together to share in culture and engage in conversation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
April 2022 Leila curated the ‘Year of the Tiger, The Andamooka Tiger Unveiling’ event’. The event was supported by the Australian Government Regional Arts Fund, Country Arts South Australia, and Regional Arts Australia.
March 2022 Leila hosted the Adelaide Festival Macro Live Stream – Gravity & Other Myths opening night via the big screen at the Andamooka Community Hall. Macro, featured breathtaking home-grown contemporary circus Gravity & Other Myths and dance sensations Djuki Mal.
Leila is creating new ways of presenting raw opal with resins and polymer clay. In 2021, Leila’s Blacklight Eromanga Sea Exhibition was on display from 5th May – to 18th June at the Roxby Downs Art Gallery. ‘Marine creatures of Australia’s ancient inland sea emerging through the black light. Sculptures, canvas, and jewellery moulded, shaped, and created into Belemnites, Jellyfish, Ammonites, and Fossils of the Eromanga Sea. In 2021, Leila also exhibited at ‘The Good, The Twisted, and the Unearthed’ at the Roxby Link Art Gallery. In 2021, Leila was accepted to the Country Arts SA Regional Artist Retreat and represented the Andamooka Opal Fields on the Regional Development Australia Far North’s ‘Rising Stars’ Program.
Leila is a keen opal gouger, and tour guide, and works at the Andamooka Post Office. Leila is a current board member of the Outback Communities Authority, Chair of the SA Arid Lands Kingoonya Landscape Group, and board member of the Flinders Ranges and Outback South Australia Tourism Committee.
Leila has represented the Andamooka arts scene on TV and radio and has been featured on Discovery Channel’s ‘Opal Hunters: Red Dirt Roadtrip’, Channel 9, SKY, Channel 7, Channel 10, ABC News, and radio.
