A new creative co-location

Bringing together two leaders in arts engagement and innovation, the ANAT + OSCA office partnership opens new opportunities for collaboration.

As ANAT CEO Melissa DeLaney explains, “We’re offering a co-working office space model to encourage aligned industry collaborators to cohabit with ANAT, creating proximity that fosters deeper exchange, shared learning and new possibilities.”

This creative co-location strengthens resource sharing and supports exchange across the experimental cultural landscape, nationally and here in Adelaide. The shared space reflects a practical commitment to sustainability and a flexible, future-facing approach to how we work.

OSCA (Open Space Contemporary Arts) is an artist-led South Australian organisation creating new models of participation and arts engagement across city, urban and regional sites. Over the past decade, it has produced interdisciplinary projects connecting people with ideas about place, community and the environment, engaging audiences from small groups to thousands. With a focus on artist-driven initiatives, OSCA supports innovative collaborations in performance, video, installation and public events.

Formerly known as KneeHigh Puppeteers, OSCA has been a South Australian arts maker since 1995, originally gaining recognition for large-scale puppetry, spectacle theatre, and community engagement projects led by Tony Hannan. Under the leadership of Dario Vacirca, and later Artistic Director Paul Gazzola and General Manager Janine Peacock, OSCA expanded into interdisciplinary practices across performance, video, installation, and curated events. 

Since 2023, an artist-led team including Paul Gazzola, Cheri Fang and Alicia Wakeling continues to guide the organisation, supporting independent artists and producing innovative, community-focused projects in city, urban and regional sites.

Artistic Director / Co-CEO Paul Gazzola is an artist and curator working across participatory art, sculpture, video and scenography. Over the past 20 years, he has developed innovative projects spanning visual art, architecture, installation, video and theory, presented internationally across Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, South America, the UK and Europe. Originally trained as a carpenter, with a B.A. in Performance (Dance), Feldenkrais certification, and architectural studies from 2004, Paul’s work explores spatial and performative relationships between body, site and built form. He has collaborated with artists including Meg Stuart, Xavier Le Roy, Tino Sehgal and Rosie Dennis, and companies such as Les Ballets C de la B and Fieldworks Performance Group, while also curating and leading community arts projects across Australia, Europe and South Africa.

Cheri Fang is OSCA’s long-term Finance and Administration Officer. Her official qualifications include Accounting, Finance and International Trade however her goal has always been to combine her professional expertise with immersion in contemporary arts. Cheri’s work at OSCA is the perfect platform for this and her work over the last five years has seen her manage OSCA’s many changes and growing arts program. Cheri has resided in Australia for the past seven years where she has completed post-graduate studies. Cheri has travelled the world and her favourite destinations include France, Switzerland and Austria where she enjoyed a variety of visual and performing artists of outstanding talent. In China, Cheri worked for Toyota, Beijing branch, where as a secretary she managed, analysed and summarized sales statistics – she realized that to be satisfied in her professional career she wanted to be involved in, and contribute to artistic life.

Alicia Wakeling is a marketing consultant who specialises in working with non profits and the arts. Starting out in more traditional advertising agencies, she’s worked in Australia and the UK for brands large, small and everything in between. She was drawn to OSCA for the incredible work they do in making art accessible to the community. She’s excited by the opportunity to contribute to more people coming to know what OSCA do and be involved in their work.